en_t4t/02-EXO.usfm

\id EXO - Translation 4 Translators 1
\ide 65001 - Unicode (UTF-8)
\h EXODUS
\toc1 Exodus
\toc2 Exodus
\toc3 Exo
\mt The Escape from Egypt (Exodus)
\c 1
\s1 The Egyptians caused the Israeli people to suffer greatly
\p
\v 1 The sons of Jacob who went to Egypt with him along with their families were
\v 2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah,
\v 3 Issachar, Zebulun, Benjamin,
\v 4 Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.
\v 5 Altogether there were 70 people \add who went with\add* Jacob. That included his \add sons, his grandsons, and two great-grandsons\add*. \add His son\add* Joseph was already in Egypt.
\p
\v 6 \add Eventually\add* Joseph and his \add older and younger\add* brothers and everyone \add else in their family who lived\add* ◄in that generation/at that time► died.
\v 7 But Jacob's descendants kept giving birth to many children [IDI]. The \add number of his descendants\add* kept becoming larger and larger. As a result, there were so many of them that they were everywhere in Egypt (OR, that they \add became a threat\add* to the Egyptians).
\v 8 Then \add several hundred years later\add*, a new king began to rule [MTY] in Egypt. He did not know \add what\add* Joseph \add had done for the people of Egypt long ago\add*.
\v 9 He said to his people, “Look \add at what has happened\add* The Israeli people have become so numerous and so powerful that they \add now are dangerous\add* to us!
\v 10 We must find a way to control them! If we do not do that, their population will continue to grow. Then, if enemies [PRS] attack us, they will join with our enemies and fight against us, and they will escape from \add our\add* land.”
\p
\v 11 So \add the king and his officials\add* put supervisors over them to cause them to suffer very much by \add forcing them\add* to work very hard. They forced \add the Israeli people to\add* build \add two\add* cities, Pithom and Ramses, in which to store \add supplies for the king/government\add*.
\v 12 But the more cruelly they treated the \add Israeli people\add*, the bigger the Israeli \add population\add* grew, and they became more numerous all over \add the land\add*. So the Egyptian people began to be afraid of the Israeli people.
\v 13 They forced the Israeli people to work very hard,
\v 14 and by making them slaves, they made their lives miserable. They \add forced them\add* to \add build many buildings with\add* mortar and bricks. \add They also forced them to do\add* other work in the fields. \add In making them do all this work, the Egyptian officials treated them\add* ruthlessly/cruelly.
\p
\v 15 There were two Hebrew ◄midwives/women who helped the women when they were giving birth►. Their names were Shiphrah and Puah. The king of Egypt said to \add those two women\add*,
\v 16 “When you help the Hebrew women when they are giving birth [MTY], if \add the baby that is born\add* is a boy, you must kill it. If \add the baby\add* is a girl, you ◄may let it live/do not have to kill them►.”
\v 17 But the midwives feared/reverenced God. So they did not do what the king told them to do. They allowed the baby boys to live.
\v 18 So the king summoned the \add two\add* midwives and said to them, “Why are you doing this? Why are you letting the baby boys live?”
\v 19 \add One of\add* the midwives replied to the king, “\add You need to realize that\add* the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women. The Hebrew women are very strong/healthy. They give birth \add to their babies\add* before we can get to them \add to help them\add*.”
\p
\v 20 So God acted kindly toward the midwives, and the \add Hebrew\add* people became very numerous and strong.
\v 21 Furthermore, because the midwives feared/reverenced God, \add God\add* enabled them also to give birth to children.
\p
\v 22 Then the king commanded all ◄the \add Egyptian\add* people/his \add advisors\add*► this: “You must throw into the Nile \add River\add* every baby boy born that the \add Hebrew women\add* give birth to! But you can allow the baby girls to live.”
\c 2
\s1 After Moses was born he was later adopted by the king's daughter
\p
\v 1 ◄There was a man who/My father► was descended from \add Jacob's son\add* Levi. He married a woman who was \add also\add* descended from Levi.
\v 2 She became pregnant and gave birth to ◄a baby boy/me►. When she saw that he/I was a good-looking baby, she hid him/me for three months, \add because she was not willing to do what the king commanded\add*.
\v 3 When she was unable to ◄hide him/me/keep it a secret► any longer, she got a basket made from tall reeds. She covered the basket with tar ◄\add to make it waterproof/so water could not get in\add*►. Then she put him/me in the basket and put the basket in \add the water\add* in the midst of the tall grass at the edge of the Nile \add River\add*.
\v 4 His/My older sister was standing not far away, \add watching to see\add* what would happen to him/me.
\p
\v 5 \add Soon\add* the king's daughter went down to the river to bathe. Her female servants were walking along the riverbank. She saw the basket amid the tall grass \add in the river\add*. So she sent \add one of\add* her servants to get it.
\v 6 When \add the servant brought the basket to her\add*, she opened it, and was surprised to see ◄a baby that was/me►, crying. She felt sorry for him/me, and said, “This \add must\add* be one of the Hebrews' babies.”
\p
\v 7 Then ◄the baby's/my► \add older\add* sister \add approached\add* the king's daughter and said, “Do you want me to go and find someone from among the Hebrew women who will \add be able to\add* nurse the baby for you?”
\v 8 The king's daughter said to her, “\add Yes\add*, go \add and find one\add*.” So the girl went and summoned ◄the baby's/my► mother.
\v 9 The king's daughter said to her, “\add Please\add* take this baby and nurse him for me. I will pay you \add for doing that\add*.” So ◄the woman/my mother► took him/me and nursed him/me.
\v 10 ◄\add Several years later\add*/when ◄the child/I► grew \add older\add*►, she brought him/me to the king's daughter. She adopted him/me \add as though I was\add* her own son. She named him/me Moses, \add which sounds like the Hebrew words ❛pull out❜\add*, because she said “I pulled him out of the water.”
\s1 Moses, after murdering an Egyptian, escaped to Midian and later married Zipporah
\p
\v 11 One day, after Moses/I had grown up, he/I went out \add of the palace area\add* to see his/my people, \add the Hebrews\add*. He/I saw how they were being \add forced to work\add* very hard. He/I \add also\add* saw an Egyptian \add man\add* beating one of his/my Hebrew people.
\v 12 He/I looked around \add to see if anyone was watching\add*. Seeing no one, he/I killed the Egyptian man and buried his \add body\add* in the sand.
\p
\v 13 The next day he/I returned \add to the same place\add*. He/I was surprised to see two Hebrew men who were fighting \add each other\add*. He/I said to the man who started the fight, “Why are you striking your fellow \add Hebrew\add*?”
\v 14 The man replied, “◄Who made you our ruler and judge?/No one made you our ruler and judge!► [RHQ] \add You have no right to interfere with us\add* Are you going to kill me just like you killed that Egyptian man \add yesterday\add*?” Then Moses/I was afraid, \add because\add* he/I thought, “\add Since that man knows what I did\add*, surely \add other people\add* know, \add too\add*.”
\p
\v 15 \add And that was correct\add*. The king heard about what he/I had done \add to that Egyptian. So he ordered his soldiers to\add* execute/kill Moses/me. But he/I fled from the king \add and left Egypt. He/I traveled east to\add* the Midian \add region\add* and started to live there.
\v 16 The man who was the ◄priest/one who offered the people's gifts to God► for the Midian people, \add whose name was Jethro\add*, had seven daughters. \add One day\add* as Moses/I sat down beside a well, those girls came \add to the well\add* and got water, and filled the troughs in order to give water to their father's flock \add of sheep\add*.
\v 17 Some ◄shepherds/men who took care of other sheep► came and started to chase away the girls. But Moses/I helped/rescued the girls, and got water for their sheep.
\v 18 When the girls returned to their father \add Jethro\add*, \add whose other name is\add* Reuel, he asked them, “How is it that you were able to \add give water to the sheep and\add* come home so quickly today?”
\v 19 They replied, “A man from Egypt kept [MTY] other shepherds from sending us away. He also got water for us \add from the well\add* and gave water to the flock \add of sheep\add*.”
\p
\v 20 He said to his daughters, “Where is he? ◄Why did you leave him \add out there\add*?/You should not leave him \add out there\add*!► [RHQ] Invite him \add in\add*, so he can have something to eat [MTY]!”
\v 21 \add So they did\add*, and Moses/I \add accepted and ate with them\add*. And Moses/I decided to live there. Later Jethro gave him/me his daughter Zipporah \add to be his/my wife\add*.
\v 22 Later she gave birth to a son, and Moses/I named him Gershom, \add which sounds like the Hebrew words that mean ❛foreigner❜\add*, because he/I said, “I am living as a foreigner in \add this\add* land.”
\p
\v 23 Many years later the king of Egypt died. The Israeli people \add in Egypt\add* were still groaning because of the \add hard work they had to do as\add* slaves. They called out for \add someone to\add* help them, and God heard them call out [PRS].
\v 24 He heard them groaning. And he ◄thought about/did not forget► that he had solemnly promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob \add to bless their descendants\add*.
\v 25 God saw how the Israeli people were \add being badly treated\add*, and he was concerned about them.
\c 3
\s1 God talked to Moses from inside a burning bush, and told him to lead his people out of Egypt
\p
\v 1 Moses/I was taking care of the sheep that belonged to his/my father-in-law Jethro, the priest of the Midian  \add people\add*. He/I led the flock across the desert and came to Horeb, \add the mountain that was later called Sinai\add*, the ◄mountain that  \add was dedicated to\add* God/taboo mountain►.
\v 2 \add One day\add* Yahweh ◄appeared/revealed himself► to him/me, \add looking like\add* an angel. The angel appeared as a flame of fire in the midst of a bush  \add that was burning\add*. Moses/I looked at it, and he was surprised that the bush was burning, but it was not burning up.
\v 3 Moses/I said, “I will go closer and try to see this strange sight! Why is the bush not burning up?”
\p
\v 4 When Yahweh saw that he/I had come closer, he called to Moses/me from the middle of the bush, saying, “Moses! Moses!” He/I replied, “\add Yes\add*, here I am.”
\v 5 Yahweh said, “Do not come closer! \add Because I am God\add*, the ground on which you are standing is holy/taboo. So take off your sandals  \add to show respect to me\add*.”
\v 6 He said, “I am God, the one your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob  \add worship\add*.” So Moses/I covered his/my face, because he/I was afraid  \add that God would kill him/me if\add* he/I looked at God.
\p
\v 7 Then Yahweh said, “I have seen how cruelly  \add they are treating\add* my people in Egypt. I have heard them ◄wailing/crying out► \add for help\add* because of what the slave-drivers  \add are forcing them to do\add*. I know how my people are suffering.
\v 8 So I have come down  \add from heaven\add* to rescue them from the Egyptians [SYN]. I have come to bring them up from that land  \add to the highlands of Canaan\add*. I will bring them to a land that is good/fertile and that has plenty of space. It will be very good for raising livestock and growing crops [MTY]. It is the land where the descendants of Canaan, Heth, Amor, Periz, Hiv, and Jebus  \add live\add*.
\v 9 Truly I have now heard my Israeli people crying [PRS]. I have seen how the Egyptians oppress them.
\v 10 So go  \add back\add* to Egypt. I am sending you to the king, in order that  \add he may permit\add* you to bring my people, the Israeli people, out of Egypt.”
\p
\v 11 But Moses/I replied to God, “I have no status [RHQ]! ◄I cannot go to the king and  \add ask him to permit me\add* to bring the Israeli people out of Egypt!/How can I go to the king and  \add ask him to allow me\add* to bring the Israeli people out of Egypt?►” [RHQ]
\v 12 He said, “I will be with you. And when you bring  \add my\add* people out of Egypt, all of you will worship me  \add right\add* here on this mountain. That will prove that I am the one who sent you  \add to them\add*.”
\p
\v 13 Moses/I said to God, “If I go to the Israeli people and say to them, ‘God, the one your ancestors  \add worshiped\add*, has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’, what shall I say to them?”
\v 14 God replied to Moses/me, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Tell the Israeli people that the one who is  \add named\add* ‘I am’ has sent me to you.”
\p
\v 15 God also said to Moses/me, “Say this to the Israeli people: ‘Yahweh God, the one your ancestors  \add worshiped\add*, the one that Abraham and Isaac and Jacob  \add worship\add*, has sent me to you.’ This name, \add Yahweh\add*, will be my name forever. That is the name that  \add people in\add* all future generations  \add must use when they talk about/to\add* me.
\v 16 Go  \add to Egypt\add* and gather together the elders/leaders of the Israeli people, and say to them, ‘Yahweh God, the one your ancestors  \add worshiped\add*, the one Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob  \add worshiped\add*, appeared to me. He said to him/me, “I have been watching closely what the Egyptian people have done to you.
\v 17 I promise that I will rescue you from being oppressed in Egypt, and  \add I will take you\add* to the land where the descendants of Canaan, Heth, Amor, Periz, Hiv, and Jebus  \add live\add*. It is a land good for raising livestock and growing crops [MTY].”’
\v 18 My people will do what you say. Then you and the Israeli elders/leaders will go to the king of Egypt, and you will say to him, ‘Yahweh, who is God, the one we Hebrews  \add worship\add*, has revealed himself to us. So now we ask you, allow us to travel for three days to  \add a place in\add* the desert, in order that there we may offer sacrifices to Yahweh, our God.’
\v 19 But I know that the king of Egypt will allow you to go only if he realizes I am  \add more\add* powerful [MTY] \add than he is\add*.
\v 20 So I will use my power [MTY] to strike/punish  \add the people of\add* Egypt [MTY] by performing many miracles there. Then he will allow you to leave.
\v 21 \add When that happens\add*, I will cause the people of Egypt to respect you. \add The result will be that\add* when you leave Egypt, ◄you will not go empty-handed/they will give you many  \add valuable\add* things to take with you►.
\v 22 \add At that time\add*, each  \add Israeli\add* woman will ask her  \add Egyptian\add* neighbor and each  \add Egyptian\add* woman who is living in her (OR, her neighbor's) house to  \add give her\add* some silver and gold jewelry and some  \add nice\add* clothes. \add She will give them some\add*, and you will put them on your sons and daughters  \add to take with you\add*. In that way you will ◄take away/confiscate► the wealth of the Egyptian people.”
\c 4
\s1 After Moses tried to resist Yahweh's appointment, Yahweh gave him power to perform miracles
\p
\v 1 Moses/I replied, “But what if \add the Israeli people\add* ◄do not believe me/are not convinced► or do what I tell them? What if they say, ‘Yahweh did not appear to you!’”
\v 2 Yahweh said to him/me, “\add Look at\add* that thing you are holding in your hand. What is it?” He/I replied, “A ◄walking stick/shepherd's stick►.”
\v 3 He said, “Throw it down on the ground!” So, he/I threw it on the ground, and it became a snake! And he/I ran/jumped away from it.
\v 4 But Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Reach down and pick it up by its tail!” So he/I reached down and caught it, and \add when he/I picked it up\add*, it became a stick in his/my hand \add again.\add*
\p
\v 5 Yahweh said, “\add Do the same thing in front of the Israeli people\add*, in order that they may believe that \add I\add*, Yahweh God, the one Abraham and Isaac and Jacob worshiped, truly appeared to you.”
\p
\v 6 Yahweh spoke to Moses/me again, saying “Put your hand inside your robe [MTY]!” He/I did that. And when he/I took it out again, surprisingly, his/my hand was white. It had a skin disease \add that made it\add* as white as snow.
\v 7 Then God said, “Put your hand back inside your robe [MTY]!” So he/I did that, and when he/I took it out again, surprisingly, it was normal again, just like the rest of his/my body!
\v 8 God said, “\add You can do that in front of the Israeli people, too\add*. If they do not pay attention to what you say because of \add seeing\add* the first miracle, they will ◄believe \add you/be convinced► when you perform\add* the second miracle.
\v 9 If they do not believe you or do what you say, even \add after you perform\add* those two miracles, get some water from the Nile \add River\add* and pour it on the ground. \add When you do that\add*, the water from the river, the water that you pour on the ground, will become blood [MTY] (OR, \add red like\add* blood).”
\p
\v 10 Moses/I replied, “O Yahweh! I am not an eloquent \add speaker\add* I was not an eloquent speaker before, and I have not become one since you started talking to me! I am not a good speaker [MTY], and I speak very slowly.”
\v 11 Then Yahweh said to him/me, “\add You seem to forget\add* who it is that makes people able to speak [RHQ]! Who is it that enables people to be unable to speak or unable to hear, or able to see or not to see? It is I, Yahweh [RHQ]!
\v 12 So start going \add to Egypt\add*, and I will help you to speak [MTY], and I will tell you what you should say.”
\v 13 But he/I replied, “O, Yahweh, I ask you, please send someone else \add instead\add*!”
\p
\v 14 Then Yahweh became very angry with Moses/me. He said, “\add What about\add* your \add older\add* brother Aaron, who is \add also\add* a descendant of Levi? I know that he is a very good/eloquent speaker. He is actually on his way here \add right now\add*, and he will be very happy to see you.
\v 15 You can keep talking to him and telling him what to say [MTY], and I will help both of you [SYN] to know what to say [MTY]. And I will tell you both what you should do.
\v 16 He will speak for you to the \add Israeli\add* people. He will be ◄your spokesman/as though he was your mouth► [MET], and you will be as though you are \add his\add* god.
\v 17 \add Be sure\add* to take with you the walking/shepherd's stick \add that is in your hand\add*, because you will perform miracles with it.”
\s1 God's instructions to Moses after Moses returned to Egypt
\p
\v 18 Moses/I returned to his/my father-in-law Jethro and said to him, “Please let me go back to Egypt, to see my fellow Israelis there. I want to know if they are still alive.” Jethro said to Moses/me, “Go, and may \add God give you inner\add* peace.”
\p
\v 19 Yahweh said to Moses/me \add before he/I left\add* Midian, “You can \add safely\add* return to Egypt, because the men who were wanting to kill you [MTY] are \add now\add* dead.”
\v 20 So Moses/I took his/my wife and sons and put them on donkeys, and they/we returned to Egypt. And Moses/I took in his/my hand the stick that God \add told him/me to take along\add*.
\p
\v 21 Yahweh said to Moses/me, “When you return to Egypt, be sure to perform all the miracles that I have given you power \add to do\add*, while the king is watching. But I will make him stubborn [IDI], with the result that he will not let the Israeli people leave \add Egypt\add*.
\v 22 Then say to him, ‘This is what Yahweh says: “The Israeli \add people\add* [MTY] are \add as dear to\add* me as firstborn sons [MET].
\v 23 I told you to let my people [MTY] leave \add Egypt\add*, in order that they may worship me \add in the desert\add*. If you refuse to let them go, I warn you, I will kill your firstborn son!”’”
\s1 Zipporah circumcised her son
\p
\v 24 \add One night\add*, as they were camping on the way \add to Egypt\add*, Yahweh appeared to Moses/me. He wanted/threatened to kill Moses/me \add for disobeying his command that boys/sons be circumcised\add*.
\v 25 Then \add his/my wife\add* Zipporah took a flint knife and circumcised her son. Then she touched the boy's feet (OR, genitals) with the piece of skin \add she had cut off\add*, and she said, “The blood \add which flowed when I circumcised you\add* will protect you \add from being harmed by Yahweh\add* [MET].”
\v 26 She said to him, “You are safe now [MET] because you have been circumcised.” So Yahweh did not harm her son.
\s1 The Israeli people believed Moses when he and Aaron talked to them
\p
\v 27 Yahweh said to Aaron, “Go into the desert to meet/see Moses!” So he went \add there from Egypt\add* and met him/me at \add Sinai\add*, the mountain dedicated to God, and \add greeted him/me by\add* kissing him/me \add on the cheek\add*.
\v 28 Moses/I told Aaron everything that Yahweh had said to him/me when he told him/me to return to Egypt. He/I also told Aaron about all the miracles that Yahweh told him/me to perform.
\p
\v 29 \add So Aaron and Moses/I\add* returned \add to Egypt\add*. There they/we gathered together all the Israeli elders/leaders.
\v 30 Aaron told them everything that Yahweh had told Moses/me, and he performed \add all\add* the miracles as the people watched.
\v 31 They believed \add that what they/we were saying was true\add*. When they heard that Yahweh had seen how the Israeli people were being cruelly oppressed and that he was going to help them, they bowed down and worshiped \add Yahweh\add*.
\c 5
\s1 The king refused to let the Israeli people go after Moses and Aaron talked to him
\p
\v 1 Then Aaron and Moses/I went to the king and \add one of them/us\add* said, “Yahweh God, whom \add we\add* Israeli people \add worship\add*, says this \add to you\add*: ‘Let my people go \add to the desert\add*, in order that they may have a feast to \add honor\add* me!’”
\v 2 But the king said, “Who is Yahweh? Why should I pay attention to what he says and let the Israeli \add people\add* [MTY] go? I do not know Yahweh! And furthermore, I will not let the Israeli \add people\add* go!”
\v 3 They/we replied, “Yahweh God, the one we Hebrews \add worship\add*, has ◄revealed himself/appeared► to us \add and told us what to tell you\add*. So we ask you to \add please\add* let us go on a three day journey into the desert. We must offer sacrifices to Yahweh God \add there\add*. \add If we do\add* not do that, he will cause us to die [IDI] from diseases or from attacks \add by our enemies\add* [MTY].”
\v 4 But the king of Egypt said to them/us, “Moses and Aaron, ◄why are you preventing the Israeli people from working?/stop trying to keep the Israeli people from working!► [RHQ] \add Tell those slaves\add* to return to work!”
\v 5 The king also said, “Listen \add to me You \add* people \add who now live\add* in this land are now \add more\add* numerous \add than we Egyptians\add* (OR, \add the ordinary people in this land are very numerous\add*). So now do you want them \add to stop working and\add* rest [RHQ]?”
\s1 The king increased the amount of work the Israelis were forced to do
\p
\v 6 That same day the king commanded the Egyptian slave bosses and the \add Israeli\add* men supervising the slaves,
\v 7 “Do not continue to give the \add Israeli\add* people straw for making bricks, as you have done previously. Make them go \add into the fields\add* and gather straw for themselves.
\v 8 But require them to make the same number of bricks that they did before. Do not decrease the number at all. They ◄are lazy/do not have enough work to do►. That is the reason they are asking me to let them go \add into the desert\add* to offer sacrifices to their god.
\v 9 Force the men to work harder, so that they will not \add have time\add* to listen to lies \add from their leaders\add*!”
\p
\v 10 So the slave bosses and supervisors of the slaves went to where the \add Israeli\add* people were and said to them, “The king has said that he will no longer give you any straw.
\v 11 \add So\add* you yourselves must go and get straw wherever you can find it. But you must still keep working to make the same number of bricks as before.” [LIT]
\v 12 So the Israeli people went all over Egypt to find straw.
\v 13 The slave bosses kept telling them insistently, “Finish the work you are required to do each day, \add making the same amount of bricks\add* as you did \add before, when we gave you\add* straw!”
\v 14 \add When they were not able to do that\add*, the slave bosses had the \add Israeli supervisors\add* beaten \add with sticks\add*, and they asked them, “Why have \add all the men you are supervising\add* not been able to make \add the same number\add* of bricks today/now as \add they did\add* before [RHQ]?”
\s1 The king refused to pay attention to the complaints of the Israelis
\p
\v 15 Then the Israeli supervisors went to the king and complained, saying “\add Your Majesty\add*, why are you treating us this way?
\v 16 \add Now\add* they are not giving us any straw \add for making bricks\add*, but they keep commanding us to make bricks. And now sometimes they beat us. But it is the fault of your own slave bosses \add that we cannot make as many bricks as before\add*!”
\v 17 But the king said, “You are lazy and do not \add want to\add* work! That is why you keep saying, ‘Allow us to go \add to the desert\add* and offer sacrifices to Yahweh.’
\v 18 So go and get back to work! \add We\add* are not going to give you any straw, but you must keep making the same number of bricks!”
\p
\v 19 The Israeli supervisors realized that they were in a difficult situation, because they had been told, “We are not going to decrease the number of bricks \add you must make\add* each day.”
\v 20 As they left the king's \add palace\add*, they met Aaron and Moses/me, who were waiting for them \add there\add*.
\v 21 They said to Aaron and Moses/me, “Yahweh has seen \add what\add* you two \add have done\add* He will punish you [MTY], because you have caused the king and his officials to despise us! You have given them an excuse [MTY] to kill us!”
\p
\v 22 Moses/I left them and prayed to Yahweh again, saying, “O Yahweh, why have you caused all these evil things to happen to your people [RHQ]? And why did you send me \add here\add* [RHQ]?
\v 23 Ever since I went to the king and told him what you told me to say [MTY], he has treated your people very cruelly, and you have not done anything to help/rescue them!”
\c 6
\s1 Yahweh promised to rescue them
\p
\v 1 Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Now you will see what I will do to the king  \add and his people\add*. I will powerfully [MTY] compel him to let my people go. In fact, by my power [MTY] \add I will force\add* him to expel them from his land!”
\p
\v 2 God also said to Moses/me, “I am Yahweh.
\v 3 I am the one who appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and  \add told them that I\add* was God Almighty, but I did not  \add tell\add* them that my name  \add was Yahweh\add*.
\v 4 I also made my solemn agreement with them, promising to give them Canaan land. That was the land in which they were living as foreigners.
\v 5 Furthermore, I have heard the Israeli people as they were groaning  \add because of the hard work that\add* the Egyptians forced them to do as their slaves. I have thought about that solemn promise  \add that I made\add*.
\v 6 So tell the Israeli people that  \add I said this:\add* ‘I am Yahweh. I will free you from the burdens  \add of heavy work\add* that the Egyptians  \add have given you\add*. I will free you from being their slaves. With my great power [MTY] and by punishing them [MTY] very severely, I will save you.
\v 7 I will cause you to be my own people, and I will be your God, \add the one you worship\add*. You will truly know that I, Yahweh your God, am the one who has freed you from the burdens  \add of work as slaves\add* of the Egyptians.
\v 8 And I will bring you to the land that I solemnly promised to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. You will possess it  \add forever\add*. I, Yahweh, am  \add promising this\add*.’”
\p
\v 9 Moses/I told that to the Israeli people, but they did not believe what he/I said. They were very discouraged [IDI] because of the hard work  \add that they had been forced to do as slaves\add*.
\s1 Aaron and Moses gave God's message to the king again
\p
\v 10 Yahweh said to Moses/me,
\v 11 “Go and tell the king of Egypt  \add again\add* that he must allow the Israeli people to leave his land!”
\v 12 But Moses/I said to Yahweh, “Listen  \add to what I am saying\add*. \add Even\add* the Israeli people have not paid attention to what I  \add told them\add*. But I am a poor speaker. [MET, MTY] So ◄why should the king pay attention to what I tell him?/the king will certainly not pay attention to what I  \add tell him\add*!►” [RHQ]
\v 13 But Yahweh spoke to Aaron and Moses/me and commanded them/us, “Tell the Israeli people and the king of Egypt that I have  \add commissioned you two\add* to lead the Israeli people out of Egypt.”
\s1 The ancestors of Moses and Aaron
\p
\v 14 ◄Here is/I will now give you► a list of the ancestors of  \add Moses/me and Aaron\add*: 
\p The sons of Reuben, who was Jacob's oldest son, \add were\add* Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. They were  \add ancestors of\add* the clans  \add that have those same names\add*.
\p
\v 15 The sons of Simeon  \add were\add* Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul. Shaul's mother was a woman from the Canaan people-group. They also were  \add ancestors of\add* clans  \add that have those same names\add*.
\p
\v 16 These are the names of the sons of Levi, in the order in which they were born: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. Levi was 137 years old  \add when he died\add*.
\p
\v 17 The sons of Gershon  \add were\add* Libni and Shimei. They were ancestors of clans that have those names.
\p
\v 18 The sons of Kohath  \add were\add* Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. Kohath was 133 years old  \add when\add* he  \add died\add*.
\p
\v 19 The sons of Merari  \add were\add* Mahli and Mushi. All of those people whose names  \add I have listed\add* belonged to tribes/clans descended from Levi, in the order in which they were born.
\p
\v 20 Amram married his father's sister, Jochebed. She was the mother of Aaron and Moses/me. Amram was 137 years old  \add when he died\add*.
\p
\v 21 The sons of Izhar were Korah, Nepheg, and Zichri.
\p
\v 22 The sons of Uzziel were Mishael, Elzaphan, and Sithri.
\p
\v 23 Aaron married Elisheba. She was the daughter of Amminadab and sister of Nahshon. Elisheba gave birth to  \add four sons\add*, Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.
\p
\v 24 The sons of Korah  \add were\add* Assir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph. They were the ancestors of the Korah people-group.
\p
\v 25 Aaron's son Eleazar married one of the daughters of Putiel, and she gave birth to Phinehas. \add That ends the list of\add* the families and clans that were descended from Levi.
\v 26 Aaron and Moses/I were the ones to whom Yahweh said, “Lead all the families and clans of the Israeli people out of Egypt.”
\v 27 They/We were the ones who spoke to the king of Egypt about bringing the Israeli people out of Egypt.
\v 28 On the day that Yahweh spoke to Moses/me in Egypt,
\v 29 he said, “I am Yahweh. You must tell the king everything that I say to you.”
\v 30 But Moses/I said to Yahweh, “Listen to me. I am not a good speaker. [MET, MTY] So ◄why should the king pay attention to what I tell him?/the king will certainly not pay attention to what I say►!” [RHQ]
\c 7
\s1 Yahweh instructed Moses and Aaron
\p
\v 1 Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Listen \add carefully\add*. I will cause the king \add to consider that\add* you are like a god, and that Aaron is like a prophet.
\v 2 You must tell everything I command you \add to tell to your older\add* brother Aaron, and he will tell that to the king. He must tell the king to let the Israeli people leave his land.
\v 3 But I will make the king stubborn [IDI]. As a result, even though I perform many kinds of ◄miracles/terrifying things► [DOU] \add here\add* in Egypt,
\v 4 the king will not pay any attention to what you say. Then I will punish [MTY] the people of Egypt [MTY] very severely [MTY], and I will lead/bring the tribes of the Israeli people out of Egypt.
\v 5 Then, when I show my great power [MTY] to the Egyptian people and bring the Israeli people out from among them, they will know that I, Yahweh, \add have the power to do what I say that I will do\add*.”
\p
\v 6 Aaron and Moses/I did what Yahweh told them/us to do. They/We \add went and spoke to the king\add*.
\v 7 At that time, Moses/I was 80 years old, and Aaron was 83 years old.
\s1 Aaron made his stick become a snake, but that did not influence the king
\p
\v 8 Yahweh said to Moses/me,
\v 9 “If the king says to you, ‘Prove \add that God sent\add* you by performing a miracle,’ then say to Aaron, ‘Throw your stick down in front of the king, in order that it may become a snake.’”
\v 10 So Aaron and Moses/I went to the king and did what Yahweh had commanded \add them/us to do\add*. Aaron threw his stick down in front of the king and his officials, and it became a snake.
\v 11 Then the king summoned his sorcerers and men who performed magic. They did the same thing, using their magic.
\v 12 They all threw down their sticks, and they became snakes. But Aaron's stick, \add which had become a snake\add*, swallowed up all their sticks!
\v 13 But the king continued to be stubborn [IDI], just as Yahweh had predicted, and he would not pay attention to \add what Aaron and Moses/I said\add*.
\s1 Moses and Aaron caused the Nile River to become red
\p
\v 14 Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “The king is very stubborn [IDI]. He refuses to allow \add my\add* people to go.
\v 15 So \add tomorrow\add* morning, go to him as he is going down to the \add Nile\add* River \add to bathe\add*. Wait for him at the riverbank. \add When he comes out of the water, show\add* him the stick, the one which became a snake.
\v 16 Say to him, ‘Yahweh God, the one \add we\add* Hebrews \add worship\add*, sent me to you to tell you to let my people go, in order that they may worship him in the desert. \add We told you that\add*, but you have not paid any attention to it.
\v 17 \add So now\add* Yahweh says this: “This is the way you will know that I, Yahweh, \add have the power to do what I say that I will do\add*. Watch this: I am going to strike the water that is in the Nile \add River\add* with the stick that is in my hand. \add When I do that\add*, the water will become blood (OR, \add red like\add* blood [MTY]).
\v 18 Then the fish in the Nile \add River\add* will die, and the \add water in\add* the river will stink, and the Egyptians will not be able to drink water from the Nile River.”’”
\p
\v 19 Yahweh said to Moses/me, “\add When you are talking to the king\add*, say to Aaron, ‘Hold your stick out \add as though you were holding it\add* over the water in Egypt—over the rivers, the canals, the ponds, and over the pools of water, in order that \add all of it\add* may become \add red like\add* blood.’ When Aaron does that, there will be blood throughout Egypt, even in wooden jars and in stone jars.”
\p
\v 20 So Aaron and Moses/I did what Yahweh commanded. As the king and his officials were watching, Aaron lifted up his stick and then struck the water in the Nile \add River\add* with it. And all the water in the river turned red like blood.
\v 21 Then all the fish died. And the water stank, with the result that the Egyptians could not drink water from the river. Everywhere in Egypt \add the water\add* became \add red like\add* blood.
\v 22 But the men who performed magic did the same thing using their magic. So the king remained stubborn [IDI], and he would not pay attention to what Aaron and Moses/I said, just as Yahweh had predicted.
\v 23 The king turned and went back to his palace, and he did not think anymore about it [IDI].
\v 24 The Egyptians [HYP] dug \add into the ground\add* near the Nile \add River\add* to get water to drink, because they could not drink the water from the river.
\s1 Moses and Aaron caused frogs to appear everywhere
\p
\v 25 ◄One week/Seven days► passed after Yahweh caused the water in the Nile \add River to become red like blood\add*.
\c 8
\p
\v 1 Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Go back to the king and tell him, ‘Yahweh says that you must let my people go, in order that they can worship me \add in the desert\add*.
\v 2 But if you refuse to let them go, I will punish you by sending frogs to cover your country.
\v 3 \add Not only\add* will the Nile \add River\add* be full of frogs, \add but\add* the frogs will come up \add out of the river\add* into your house. They will come into your bedroom and onto your bed. They will be in the houses of your officials and all \add the rest of\add* your people. They will even get into your ovens and your pans for mixing the materials for baking bread.
\v 4 The frogs will jump up on you and your officials and \add all the rest of\add* your people.’”
\p
\v 5 Yahweh \add also\add* said to Moses/me, “Say this to Aaron: ‘Hold your stick in your hand and stretch it out \add as though you were stretching it\add* over the river, the canals, and over the pools, and cause frogs to come up \add from all this water and\add* cover the land of Egypt.’”
\v 6 \add After Mose/I told that to\add* Aaron, he stretched out his hand \add as though he were stretching it\add* over all the water in Egypt. And the frogs came up \add from the water and\add* covered Egypt.
\v 7 But the men who performed magic did the same thing, and they caused \add more\add* frogs to come up \add from the water onto the land\add*.
\v 8 Then the king summoned Moses/me and said, “Ask Yahweh to take away these frogs from me and my people. After that happens, I will allow your people to go, in order that they can offer sacrifices to Yahweh.”
\v 9 Moses/I said to the king, “I will be glad to pray for you and for your officials and for \add the rest of\add* your people. \add I will ask Yahweh\add* to get rid of the frogs from all your houses. The only frogs left will be \add those\add* in the Nile \add River\add*. Just tell me when I should pray.”
\v 10 He replied, “Tomorrow.” So Moses/I said, “\add I will do\add* what you say, and then you will know that Yahweh God, the one we \add worship, is the only true god\add*, and that there is no other god like him.
\v 11 The frogs will leave you and your officials and all \add the rest of\add* your people. The only ones left will be in the Nile \add River\add*.”
\p
\v 12 Aaron and Moses/I left the king. Then Moses/I prayed to Yahweh, \add asking him to take away\add* all the frogs he had \add brought to the king's land\add*.
\v 13 And Yahweh did just what Moses/I \add asked him to do\add*. As a result, all the frogs in the houses, in their courtyards, and in the fields died.
\v 14 The people gathered together all the dead frogs into big piles, and the land stank \add from the smell\add*.
\v 15 But when the king saw that \add the problem\add* was ended, he became stubborn [IDI] \add again\add*. And just as Yahweh had predicted, he would not pay attention to what Aaron and Moses/I suggested.
\s1 Moses and Aaron caused the land to be full of gnats
\p
\v 16 Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Tell Aaron to strike the ground with his stick. \add When he does that\add*, all the fine particles of ground/dust will become gnats, all over the land of Egypt.”
\v 17 So they/we did that. Aaron struck the ground with his stick, and all over Egypt, the fine particles of ground/dust became gnats. The gnats covered the people and all \add their\add* animals.
\v 18 The men who worked magic tried to cause gnats to appear, but they were unable to do it. So the gnats \add stayed\add* on the people and on their animals.
\v 19 The men who worked magic said to the king, “It is God who has done this with his power [MTY]!”. But the king continued to be stubborn [IDI], and he would not pay attention to what Aaron and Moses/I said, just as Yahweh had predicted.
\s1 Moses and Aaron caused the land to be filled with flies
\p
\v 20 Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Get up early \add tomorrow\add* morning. \add Go down\add* to the river and wait for the king. \add When he comes to bathe\add* [MTY], say to him, ‘This is what Yahweh says to you: “Let my people go, in order that they may worship me \add in the desert\add*.
\v 21 \add I warn you that\add* if you do not let my people go, I will send swarms of flies to you. They will come on you and on your officials and on \add the rest of\add* your people. The houses of all you Egyptians will be full of flies. They will \add even\add* cover the ground on which you will be standing.
\v 22 But when that happens, I will treat the Goshen region, where my people live, differently. There will be no swarms of flies there. In that way, you will know that I, Yahweh, am doing these things \add here\add* in this land.
\v 23 I will distinguish clearly between \add how I act toward\add* my people and \add how I act toward\add* your people. And this miracle is going to happen tomorrow!”’”
\p
\v 24 \add Early the next morning, Moses/I told that to the king, but the king would not pay any attention\add*. So Yahweh did what he said he would do. He sent great swarms of flies into the palace of the king and into the houses of his officials. The whole country of Egypt was ruined by the flies.
\v 25 Then the king summoned Aaron and Moses/me and said, “You Israeli people can go and offer sacrifices to your god, \add but you must do it\add* here in \add this\add* land.”
\v 26 But Moses/I replied, “It would not be right \add for us\add* to do that, because we will be offering sacrifices that are very offensive to the Egyptian people. If we offer sacrifices that the Egyptian people think are disgusting, they will kill us by throwing stones at us [RHQ]!
\v 27 We need to travel for three days into the desert. There we will offer sacrifices to Yahweh, the God we worship, just as he commands (OR, has commanded) us.”
\v 28 So the king said, “I will let your people go to offer sacrifices to Yahweh, your god, in the desert. But you must not go very far. \add Now\add* pray for me!”
\v 29 Moses/I said, “Listen \add to me\add* After I leave you, I will pray to Yahweh, \add asking\add* that tomorrow \add he will cause\add* the swarms of flies to leave you and your officials and \add the rest of\add* your people. But do not deceive us again by refusing to let our people go to offer sacrifices to Yahweh!”
\p
\v 30 Then Moses/I left the king and prayed to Yahweh.
\v 31 And Yahweh did what Moses/I asked, and he got rid of the swarms of flies from \add around\add* the king and his officials and \add the rest of\add* his people. No flies remained.
\v 32 But the king was stubborn [IDI] this time also, and he did not allow the Israeli people to go.
\c 9
\s1 Yahweh sent a terrible disease to afflict the Egyptians' livestock
\p
\v 1 Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Go to the king and say to him, ‘This is what Yahweh, the one  \add we\add* Hebrews  \add worship\add*, says: “Allow my people to go, in order that they may worship me.
\v 2 If you still refuse to let them go [DOU],
\v 3 I warn you that I will punish you with my power [MTY] by sending a terrible disease on all your animals—on your horses, donkeys, camels, on your cattle, and on your flocks  \add of sheep and goats\add*.
\v 4 But I, Yahweh, will distinguish between  \add what I do to\add* the animals that belong to the Israeli people and  \add what I do to\add* your animals. The result will be that no animal that belongs to the Israeli people will die.”’
\v 5 \add Tell him that\add* I have determined/decided that tomorrow is the day that I will do this in this land.”
\p
\v 6 The next day Yahweh did just what he said  \add that he would do\add*. A terrible disease afflicted all of the Egyptians' animals, and many of them [HYP] died. But none of the Israeli people's animals died.
\v 7 The king sent  \add men to investigate\add*, and they were surprised  \add to see\add* that none of the Israeli people's animals had died. But  \add after they reported that to the\add* king, he continued to be stubborn [IDI], and he did not let the  \add Israeli\add* people go.
\s1 Yahweh caused the Egyptian people to be afflicted with boils
\p
\v 8 Then Yahweh said to Aaron and Moses/me, “Take a few handfuls of ashes/soot from ◄a furnace/an oven where they burn lime►, and let Moses throw them up into the air, in front of the king.
\v 9 The  \add ashes/soot\add* will spread all over the country of Egypt like fine dust. And everywhere the ashes/soot will cause boils to afflict both the Egyptian people and their animals, all over the land.”
\v 10 So they both got some ashes/soot and  \add went and\add* stood in front of the king. Moses/I threw the ashes/soot up into the air. The ashes/soot spread all over, causing boils to afflict the  \add Egyptian\add* people and their animals. All the boils became open sores.
\v 11 Even the men who worked magic had boils. The result was that they were not able to come to (OR, oppose) Moses/me, because the men who worked magic had boils just like all  \add the rest of\add* the Egyptian people.
\v 12 But Yahweh caused the king to  \add continue to\add* be stubborn [IDI]. He did not pay any attention to what they/we  \add said\add*, just as Yahweh had told Moses/me  \add would happen\add*.
\s1 Yahweh sent hail on all the Egyptian people and their animals
\p
\v 13 Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Get up early  \add tomorrow\add* morning. Go and stand in front of the king and tell him that Yahweh God, the one that the Hebrew people  \add worship\add*, says this: ‘Let my people go, in order that they may worship me  \add in the desert\add*.
\v 14 \add If you do not let them go\add*, this time I will  \add punish\add* with plagues  \add not only\add* your officials and the rest of your people, but I will punish you yourself [SYN], in order that you will know there is no  \add god\add* like me anywhere in the world.
\v 15 By this time I could have used my power [MTY] to strike you and your people with terrible diseases that would have wiped you all from the earth.
\v 16 But I have let you live. The reason I have let you live is to show you my power, with the result that  \add people\add* all over the earth [HYP] will know how great I [MTY] am.
\v 17 You are still acting proudly and refusing to let my people go.
\v 18 So listen  \add to this\add*:  About this time tomorrow I will cause very heavy hail to fall  \add in Egypt\add*. From the time Egypt first became  \add a country\add*, there has never been a hailstorm  \add as bad as this one will be\add*.
\v 19 So you should send  \add a message to everyone\add* to put their cattle, and everything else that they own that is  \add out\add* in the fields, under shelters. The hail will fall on every person and every animal that is out in the fields and that is not brought under a shelter, and they will all die.’” \add So Moses/I did what Yahweh said\add*.
\p
\v 20 Some of the king's officials who heard what Yahweh had said became very afraid. So they brought all their animals and their slaves under shelters.
\v 21 But those who did not pay any attention to what Yahweh had said left their slaves and their animals in the fields.
\v 22 Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Raise your hand up toward the sky, in order that hail will fall all over the land of Egypt—on the people and on their animals and on all the plants in the fields.”
\v 23 So Moses/I lifted his/my stick up toward the sky. And Yahweh sent down hail, all over the land of Egypt. There was also thunder and lightning.
\v 24 While very heavy hail was falling, there was thunder, and lightning struck the ground. There had never been a hailstorm like that since Egypt first became a country.
\v 25 The hail struck everything that was in the fields all over Egypt—every person and every animal. The hail destroyed the plants in the fields and stripped  \add the leaves off\add* the trees.
\v 26 Only in the Goshen region, where the Israeli people were  \add living\add*, was there no hail.
\p
\v 27 Then the king sent  \add someone\add* to summon Aaron and Moses/me. \add When we came to the king\add*, He said to them/us, “This time  \add I admit that\add* I have sinned. What Yahweh  \add has done\add* is right, and what I and my people  \add have done\add* is wrong.
\v 28 ◄Pray to/Plead with► Yahweh! \add We\add* cannot  \add endure any more\add* of this thunder and hail! I will let your people go; they do not have to stay  \add in Egypt\add* any longer.”
\p
\v 29 Moses/I replied, “As soon as I go out of this city, I will lift up my hands  \add and pray\add* to Yahweh. Then the thunder will cease, and no more hail  \add will fall\add*. \add This will happen\add* in order that you will know that Yahweh, \add not your gods\add*, controls everything  \add that happens\add* on the earth.
\v 30 But as for you and your officials, I know that you do not yet fear Yahweh God.”
\p
\v 31 When the hail fell, the flax was ruined because the buds were forming, and the barley was ruined because its grain was ripe.
\v 32 But none of the wheat was ruined, because its shoots were still very small.
\p
\v 33 So Moses/I left the king and went outside the city. He/I lifted up his/my hands toward Yahweh  \add and prayed\add*. Then the thunder and the hail stopped, and the rain also stopped falling on the land  \add of Egypt\add*.
\v 34 But when the king saw that the rain and the hail and the thunder had stopped, he sinned again. He and his officials continued to be stubborn [IDI].
\v 35 So, just as Yahweh had predicted by what he told Moses/me, the king did not allow the Israeli people to leave.
\c 10
\s1 Yahweh sent locusts to destroy the rest of the Egyptians' crops
\p
\v 1 Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Go to the king \add again\add*. I have made him and his officials stubborn [IDI]. I have done that in order that I would \add have a good reason to\add* perform all these miracles among them,
\v 2 and also in order that you would \add be able to\add* tell your children and your grandchildren how I caused the Egyptians to act very foolishly \add when\add* I performed all these miracles. Then all of you will know that I, Yahweh, \add have the power to do what I say that I will do\add*.”
\p
\v 3 So Aaron and Moses/I went into the king's \add palace\add* and said to him, “Yahweh God, the one we Hebrews \add worship\add*, says this: ‘How long will you stubbornly refuse to do what I tell you [MTY]? Let my people go, in order that they may worship me \add in the desert\add*
\v 4 If you \add keep\add* refusing to let them go, I warn you that tomorrow I will bring ◄locusts/\add large flying insects called\add* locusts► into your country.
\v 5 \add They will completely cover the ground so that\add* you will not even be able to see the ground. They will eat everything that the hail did not \add destroy\add*. They will eat \add everything that is left on\add* the trees that are still growing.
\v 6 They will fill your houses, and the houses of all your officials, and the houses of all \add the rest of\add* the Egyptians. \add There will be more locusts\add* than you or your parents or your grandparents have ever seen, from the time your ancestors first came to \add this\add* land until the present time!’” Then he/I turned and \add Aaron and\add* I left the king.
\p
\v 7 The king's officials said to him, “◄How long is this man going to continue to bring disasters on us?/We must not let this man continue to cause trouble for us!► [RHQ] Let the \add Israeli\add* men leave, in order that they may worship Yahweh, their god. ◄Do you not yet understand that \add this man\add* has ruined Egypt?/You ought to realize by now that \add this man\add* has ruined Egypt!►” [RHQ]
\v 8 So they brought Aaron and Moses/me back to the king. He said to them/us, “\add All right\add*, you can go and worship Yahweh your god. But who are the ones who will go?”
\v 9 Moses/I replied, “We \add all\add* need to go, everyone, including those who are young and those who are old. We need to take our sons and our daughters and our flocks \add of sheep and goats\add* and herds \add of livestock\add*, because we must have a festival to \add honor\add* Yahweh.”
\p
\v 10 \add Moses/I really did not intend that the Israelis would ever return to Egypt, and the king knew that also. So\add* the king replied, “\add If you all leave\add*, \add it will be clear that\add* Yahweh has helped you, but I myself will never let you \add take\add* your children \add and your wives\add* when you go! It is clear that you are wickedly planning \add not to return\add*.
\v 11 So no, \add I will not let you all go\add*. \add The Israeli\add* men may go \add and worship Yahweh\add*, if that is what you want.” Then the king expelled them/us from \add his palace\add*.
\p
\v 12 Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Reach out your hand as \add though you were stretching it\add* over the land to welcome the locusts. They will come to the country of Egypt and eat every plant that is \add left\add* in the land, every plant that the hail has not destroyed.”
\p
\v 13 So Moses/I held out his/my stick \add as though he/I was stretching it\add* over the whole land of Egypt. Then Yahweh caused a \add strong\add* wind to blow from the east, and it blew over the land all that day and all that night. By the \add next\add* morning, it had brought the locusts.
\v 14 The locusts swarmed all over Egypt. It was larger than any swarm of locusts that had ever \add been seen\add*, and there will never be \add a swarm of locusts like that\add* again.
\v 15 They covered the surface of the ground and made it \add appear\add* black. They ate all the plants in the land and everything on the trees that had not been destroyed by the hail. Nothing that was green was left on any plant or on any tree, anywhere in Egypt.
\p
\v 16 The king quickly summoned Aaron and Moses/me and said, “I have sinned against Yahweh, your god, and against you \add two\add*.
\v 17 So now I ask you to forgive me this one time \add for having\add* sinned, and pray to Yahweh your god to take away this \add destruction\add* [MTY] \add which will cause us\add* to die.”
\p
\v 18 They/We left the king, and Moses/I prayed to Yahweh.
\v 19 Then Yahweh changed the wind so that it blew \add strongly\add* from the west, and it blew all the locusts into the Red Sea (OR, the Gulf of Suez). There was not one locust left anywhere in the country of Egypt.
\p
\v 20 But Yahweh made the king stubborn [IDI] \add again\add*, and he did not let the Israeli people go.
\s1 Yahweh caused a great darkness to cover Egypt
\p
\v 21 Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Reach your hand up toward the sky, in order that there will be darkness over all the land of Egypt, a darkness \add so complete\add* that people will have to grope around \add to know where to walk\add*.”
\v 22 So Moses/I reached his/my hand toward the sky, and it became totally dark all over Egypt for three days \add and nights\add*.
\v 23 People could not see each other. No one left his house during that whole time. But there was light in the area where the Israeli people were living.
\p
\v 24 The king summoned Moses/me and said, “All right, you may go and worship Yahweh. \add Your wives and\add* your children may go with you. But your flocks of sheep and goats and your herds of cattle must remain here.”
\v 25 But Moses/I replied, “\add No\add*, you must let us \add take along the sheep and goats, in order\add* that we may have \add some of them\add* to sacrifice and give as burned offerings to Yahweh, our God.
\v 26 Our livestock must also go with us; we are not going to leave one of them [SYN] behind. We must take them to worship Yahweh. We will not know \add which animals to sacrifice\add* until we get to where we are going.”
\p
\v 27 But Yahweh made the king \add continue to be\add* stubborn [IDI], and he would not let \add the Israeli\add* people go.
\v 28 The king said to them, “Get out of here! Make sure that you never come to see me [SYN] again! The day you see me again, \add I will have\add* you executed!”
\v 29 Moses/I replied, “You are correct! You will never see me [SYN] again!”
\c 11
\s1 Yahweh declared that all the oldest sons of the Egyptians would die, and then the king's officials would plead for the Israeli people to leave Egypt
\p
\v 1 Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “I will bring one more disaster on the king of Egypt and on all his people [MTY]. After that, he will let you leave. In fact, he will expel you all.
\v 2 So now speak to all the  \add Israeli\add* people. Tell them to ask all their  \add Egyptian\add* neighbors, both men and women, to give them some silver and gold jewelry.”
\v 3 Yahweh made the Egyptians highly respect the Israeli people. In particular, the Egyptian officials and all  \add the rest of\add* the people considered Moses/me to be a very great man.
\p
\v 4 Then Moses/I  \add went to the king and\add* said, “This is what Yahweh says: ‘About midnight  \add tonight\add* I will go through Egypt,
\v 5 and I will cause all the firstborn/oldest  \add sons\add* to die. That will include your oldest son, the oldest sons of the slave women who grind grain, \add and the oldest sons of everyone else\add*. I will also kill the oldest males of the Egyptians' livestock.
\v 6 When that happens, people all over Egypt will wail loudly. They have never wailed like that before, and they will never wail like that again.
\v 7 But among the Israeli people  \add it will be so quiet that\add* not even a dog will bark! Then you will know for sure that I, Yahweh, distinguish  \add how I act toward\add* the Egyptians and  \add how I act toward\add* the Israeli people.
\v 8 Then all these officials of yours will come and bow down before me and will say, “Please get out  \add of Egypt\add*, you and all the Israeli people!”’ After that, I will leave Egypt!” \add After Moses/I said that\add*, he/I very angrily left the king.
\p
\v 9 Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “The king will not pay any attention to what you say. The result will be that I will perform more miracles in the land of Egypt.”
\p
\v 10 Aaron and Moses/I performed all these miracles in front of the king, but Yahweh made the king stubborn, and he did not let the Israeli people leave his land.
\c 12
\s1 Yahweh instructed Moses and Aaron about the Passover Festival
\p
\v 1 Yahweh said to Aaron and Moses/me there in Egypt,
\v 2 “\add From now on\add*, this month \add will be\add* the first month of the year for you.
\v 3 Tell all the Israeli people that in each family, the man who heads the family must take a lamb or a young goat for his household.
\v 4 If there are not enough people in his family to eat a whole \add cooked\add* lamb, then his family and the family that lives next door may share one animal. Decide how many lambs you need according to the number of people in each family, and according to how much each person can eat.
\v 5 The lambs or goats that you choose must be males, one-year-old, and they must not have any defects.
\v 6 You must take \add special\add* care of these animals until the 14th day of the month. On that day, all the Israeli people must slaughter the lambs \add or goats\add* in the evening.
\v 7 Then they must take some of the blood \add from the lambs or goats\add*, and they must smear it on the doorposts and the ◄lintels/horizontal beams above the doorways► of the houses in which they will eat the meat.
\v 8 They must roast the animals immediately and eat the meat that night. They must eat it with bread that is baked without yeast and with bitter herbs.
\v 9 You must not eat any of the meat raw, and you must not boil the meat. You must roast it \add whole\add*, without cutting off the head or the legs or removing the internal parts.
\v 10 You must eat all the meat that evening; do not let any of the meat remain \add to be eaten\add* the next morning. If any of the meat is left the next morning, you must \add completely\add* burn it.
\v 11 When you eat it, you must be dressed ready to travel. You must have your sandals on your feet and your walking stick in your hands. It will be a festival \add called\add* Passover to \add honor\add* me, Yahweh.
\v 12 On that night I will go through all the land of Egypt, and I will kill all the oldest males in Egypt, both humans and animals. \add By doing this\add* I will punish all the gods in Egypt. \add I can do this\add*, because I am Yahweh, \add the all-powerful God\add*.
\v 13 The blood \add that you smear on the doorways will be a mark to indicate\add* the houses in which you \add Israelis\add* live. When I see the blood, I will \add ignore and\add* pass by those houses, and I will not harm you \add people who live there\add*, when I punish the Egyptians.
\p
\v 14 \add Each year\add*, you must celebrate this festival on this day, to remember \add what I\add*, Yahweh, \add have done for you\add*. In all the generations to come, \add each year\add* you must celebrate \add this festival\add*. \add It must continue\add* forever.
\v 15 For seven days you must eat bread that has no yeast in it. On the first day of that week you must get rid of all the yeast that is in your houses. During those seven days, if anyone eats bread that is baked with yeast in it, \add you must consider\add* that person to be no longer an Israeli.
\v 16 On the first day \add of that week\add*, you must ◄have a holy meeting/gather together to \add worship\add* me►. You must do the same thing on the seventh day. People must not work on those two days. The only work they may do is to prepare food for you to eat.
\p
\v 17 \add Every year\add* you must keep celebrating this festival of eating bread that has no yeast in it, because it will remind you that it was on this day that I brought all your tribal groups out of the land of Egypt. So \add every year\add*, in all the generations to come, you must celebrate this day as a festival. It must continue forever.
\v 18-19 In the first month of the year, on the 14th day of that month, the only bread you may eat is bread that has no yeast in it. You must keep doing that each day until the 21st day of that month. For those seven days you must not have any yeast in your house. \add During that time\add*, if anyone, either an Israeli or a foreigner, eats bread made with yeast, you must consider that person no longer to be an Israeli.
\v 20 In your houses, do not eat anything that has yeast in it during those seven days.”
\p
\v 21 Then Moses/I summoned all the leaders of the Israeli people. He/I said to them, “Each family should select a lamb and kill it, \add in order that you may eat it to celebrate the festival that will be called\add* ❛Passover❜.
\v 22 Let the lamb's blood \add drain into\add* a basin. Get a bunch/sprig of ◄hyssop/a very leafy plant► and dip it in the blood. Then smear some of the blood on the doorposts and the ◄lintels/beams above the doorways► \add of your houses\add*. The people in each house must all stay inside the house until the next morning.
\v 23 When Yahweh goes through Egypt to kill \add the oldest male in each\add* Egyptian family, he will see the blood on the ◄lintels/beams of your doorways►, and he will \add ignore and\add* pass by those houses. He will not allow the angel who causes people to die to enter your houses and kill \add any of\add* your \add oldest sons\add*.
\v 24 You and your descendants must celebrate this ritual forever.
\v 25 And when you arrive in the land that Yahweh will be giving to you as he promised, you must keep celebrating this ritual \add every year\add*.
\v 26 When your children ask you, ‘What does this ritual mean?’,
\v 27 you must tell them, ‘This ritual is \add to remember how our ancestors\add* sacrificed \add lambs\add* on the night that Yahweh's angel passed by the houses of the Israeli people \add when they were\add* in Egypt. He killed the \add oldest males/sons in all\add* the Egyptian houses, but he spared \add the sons in\add* [MTY] our houses.’” After Moses/I told them this, they all bowed their heads and worshiped \add Yahweh\add*.
\v 28 Then the Israeli people did what Yahweh had told Aaron and Moses/me \add to tell them to do\add*.
\s1 Yahweh killed all the oldest Egyptian males
\p
\v 29 At midnight Yahweh killed all the oldest sons of the Egyptian people, all over Egypt. That included the king's oldest son, the oldest sons of the prisoners in the dungeon/jail, and \add the oldest sons of everyone else\add*. He also killed the oldest males of all the Egyptians' livestock.
\v 30 That night the king, all his officials, and \add all the rest of\add* the Egyptian people awoke \add and discovered what had happened\add*. They wailed loudly all over Egypt, because in every house, someone's son had died.
\s1 The Israeli people left Egypt
\p
\v 31 That night the king summoned Aaron and Moses/me and said, “Get up, you and all the \add other\add* Israeli people, and leave my country \add immediately\add* Go and worship Yahweh, as you requested!
\v 32 Take your flocks \add of sheep and goats\add* and herds \add of cattle\add*, and leave! And ask Yahweh to bless me, also!”
\p
\v 33 Then the Israeli people did as Moses/I had told them. They \add went to\add* their Egyptian \add neighbors\add* and asked them for silver and gold jewelry and clothing.
\v 34 Yahweh caused the Egyptian people to greatly respect the \add Israeli\add* people, so they gave them what they asked for. In that way, they carried away the wealth of the Egyptian people.
\v 35 The Egyptians urged the \add Israeli\add* people to leave their country quickly. They said, “\add If you do not do that\add*, we will all die!”
\v 36 So the \add Israeli\add* people \add prepared to leave at once\add*. They took the bowls in which they mixed the dough to make bread, and the dough that was in the bowls without any yeast in it, and they wrapped the bowls in their cloaks. They put the bowls on their shoulders \add and left\add*.
\p
\v 37 The Israeli people traveled from Rameses \add city\add* to Succoth \add town\add*. There were about 600,000 men who went, in addition to the women and children.
\v 38 Many other people who were not Israelis went along with them. There were also livestock, including flocks \add of sheep and goats\add* and herds \add of cattle\add*.
\v 39 On their way, they baked bread with the dough that they carried with them when they had been expelled from Egypt. The dough did not have yeast in it, because they were told to leave Egypt so quickly that they did not have enough time to get food ready to take with them, or enough time to mix yeast in the dough.
\p
\v 40 The Israeli people had lived in Egypt 430 years.
\v 41 On the day that those 430 years ended, on that very day, all the tribes of Yahweh's people left Egypt.
\v 42 It was a night when Yahweh ◄protected/guarded over► them as he brought them out of Egypt. So this same night every year is a night that is dedicated to Yahweh, a night when the Israeli people in every generation \add remember how\add* Yahweh protected our ancestors.
\s1 Yahweh instructed Moses and Aaron about future Passover festivals
\p
\v 43-44 Then Yahweh said this to Aaron and Moses/me: “These are my instructions about the Passover ritual: Do not let foreigners eat \add the Passover meal\add*. But any male slaves that you have bought may eat it after you have circumcised them.
\v 45 Do not let people who are living among you temporarily, or servants whom you have hired, eat \add the Passover meal\add*.
\v 46 Each family must eat the Passover meal inside their own house. Do not take any of the food outside the house.
\v 47 All the Israeli people must celebrate this festival.
\v 48 When someone from another country comes to live with you and wants to celebrate the Passover Festival, circumcise all the males in his household. Then they can eat the Passover meal, and you should treat that man as though he was born an Israeli. But do not allow men who have not been circumcised to eat the Passover meal.
\v 49 These rules apply to people who were born as Israelis and to foreigners who come and live among you.”
\p
\v 50 All the Israeli people obeyed Aaron and Moses/me and did what Yahweh had commanded.
\v 51 On that very day Yahweh brought all the tribes of the Israeli people out of Egypt.
\c 13
\s1 Yahweh gave Moses instructions about dedicating the firstborn sons
\p
\v 1 Yahweh said to Moses/me,
\v 2 “Set apart all the firstborn males in order that they may belong to me. The firstborn males of the Israeli people and of their animals will be mine.”
\s1 Moses instructed them about future celebrations of the Festival of Unleavened Bread
\p
\v 3 Moses/I said to the people, “Do not forget this day! This is the day that you left Egypt. This is the day you  \add are freed from\add* being their slaves. Yahweh has brought you out of Egypt by his great power [MTY]. Do not eat any bread that has yeast in it  \add whenever you celebrate\add* this day.
\v 4 You are leaving Egypt on this day, which is the first day of the month that is  \add named\add* Abib.
\v 5 Later, when Yahweh brings you into the land where the descendants of Canaan, Heth, Amor, Hiv, and Jebus  \add now live\add*, the land that he solemnly promised to give to you, a land that will be very good for raising livestock and growing crops [MTY], you must celebrate this festival in this month  \add every year\add*.
\v 6 For seven days the bread that you eat must not have any yeast in it. On the seventh day there must be a festival to  \add honor\add* Yahweh.
\v 7 Do not eat bread that has yeast in it for seven days. You should not have any yeast or bread made with yeast anywhere in your land.
\v 8 On the day  \add the festival starts\add*, you must tell your children, ‘\add We are doing this to remember\add* what Yahweh did for our ancestors when they left Egypt.
\v 9 This ritual will remind you how Yahweh brought your ancestors out of Egypt with his great power [MTY]. \add The ritual will be like something\add* you tie on your forehead or on your wrist. It will remind you to recite to others what Yahweh has instructed you.
\v 10 So you must celebrate this festival every year at the time  \add Yahweh\add* has appointed.’
\p
\v 11 Yahweh will bring you into the land where the descendants of Canaan live, as he promised to you and your ancestors that he would do. When he gives that land to you,
\v 12 you must dedicate to Yahweh the firstborn males of all your animals. These all will belong to Yahweh.
\v 13 You may keep the firstborn male donkeys, but you must buy them back by sacrificing a lamb as a substitute for the donkey. If you do not want to buy back the donkey, you must  \add kill it by\add* breaking its neck. You must also buy back every one of your own firstborn sons.
\v 14 In the future, when one of your children asks, ‘What does this mean?’, you must say to him, ‘Yahweh brought our ancestors out of Egypt with his great power [MTY], and freed us from being slaves there.
\v 15 The king of Egypt stubbornly refused to let them leave his land, so Yahweh killed all the firstborn males in Egypt, both the boys and the firstborn of their livestock. That is why we now sacrifice to Yahweh all the firstborn of our livestock, but we buy back our own firstborn sons.’
\v 16 I repeat that this ritual will remind you about how Yahweh brought our  \add ancestors\add* out of Egypt by his great power [MTY]; it will be like something you tie on your wrist or on your forehead  \add to remind you of that\add*.”
\s1 God led them to detour through the desert
\p
\v 17 When the king  \add of Egypt\add* let the  \add Israeli\add* people go, God did not lead them to go through the land of the Philistines. That was a shorter road, but God said, “It would be bad if my people change their minds when they realize that they will have to fight  \add the Philistines to take their land\add*, and then  \add decide to\add* return to Egypt.”
\v 18 Instead, God led them to go around through the desert toward the Red Sea (OR, the Gulf of Suez). When the Israeli people left Egypt, they were carrying weapons to fight  \add their enemies\add*.
\p
\v 19 Moses/I  \add had them\add* take along the bones of Joseph with them/us, because Joseph long ago had made the Israeli people promise solemnly that they would do that. He had said to them, “God will enable your descendants to leave Egypt. When that happens, you must carry my bones with you.”
\p
\v 20 The Israeli people left Succoth and traveled to Etham, at the edge of the desert, and they set up their tents there.
\v 21 \add When they traveled\add* during the daytime, Yahweh went in front of them in a tall  \add white\add* cloud to show them the way. During the night, he went in front of them in a tall cloud that looked like a fire. By doing that, he enabled them to travel in the daytime and also at nighttime.
\v 22 The tall cloud did not leave them. It was always in front of them, as a bright white cloud in the daytime and like a fire at night.
\c 14
\s1 Yahweh told Moses what he planned to do
\p
\v 1 Then Yahweh said to Moses/me,
\v 2 “Tell the Israeli people to turn around and go back and set up their tents in front of Pi-Hahiroth  \add town\add*. That town is between Migdol and the sea, near Baal-Zephon  \add town\add*. Set up your tents there, close to the sea.
\v 3 When the king  \add knows you have done that\add*, he will think, ‘The Israeli people are confused. They are wandering around, and the desert blocks their path.’
\v 4 But I will make the king stubborn  \add again\add*, and he will  \add take his army and\add* pursue you. Then my people will praise/thank me for winning a victory over the king and his army. And the Egyptians will know that I, Yahweh, \add have the power to do what I say that I will do\add*.” So  \add Moses/I told them that, and\add* they did what he/I told them to do.
\s1 The Egyptian army started to pursue the Israelis
\p
\v 5 When someone told the king that the Israeli people had left  \add during the night\add*, he and his officials changed their minds and said, “◄What have we done?/What we have done was stupid!► [RHQ] The Israeli people will no longer be our slaves!”
\v 6 So the king got his chariot and his army ready.
\v 7 Then he selected six hundred of the best chariots, and in each chariot he placed a driver, a soldier, and a commander, and they left. Other chariots, with a driver and a soldier in each of them, also went along.
\v 8 Because Yahweh made the king of Egypt so stubborn that he and his army went to pursue the Israelis, who were leaving triumphantly,
\v 9 the Egyptian army, with all the king's horses and chariots and horsemen, pursued the Israelis. They caught up with them as they were camped near the sea, close to Pi-Hahiroth, in front of Baal-Zephon  \add town\add*.
\p
\v 10 When the king's army got near, the Israeli people were surprised to see that the Egyptians were marching toward them. They were terrified; so they cried out to Yahweh  \add to help them\add*.
\v 11 Then they said to Moses/me, “Is it because there were no places in Egypt  \add where we could\add* be buried that you have brought us here to die in this desert [RHQ]? Look what you have done to us by bringing us out of Egypt [RHQ]!
\v 12 That is what we told you when we were in Egypt! We said, ‘Leave us alone, and let us work for the Egyptians [RHQ]!’ It would have been better for us to be slaves for the Egyptians than to die here in the desert!”
\p
\v 13 Moses/I replied to the people, “Do not be afraid! Stand firm, and see how Yahweh will rescue you! He will save you today, and the result will be that the Egyptians that you are looking at today—you will never see them again!
\v 14 Yahweh will fight for you! Just keep quiet. There is nothing else that you will have to do.”
\s1 Yahweh caused the Egyptian army to drown in the sea
\p
\v 15-16 Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Tell the people to stop crying out for me  \add to help them\add*, and to go forward. Lift up your stick and stretch it out  \add as though you were\add* stretching it over the sea. The water will divide, so that the Israeli people can go in the middle of the sea, walking on dry ground  \add between the walls of water on each side\add*.
\v 17 I will make the Egyptians stubborn, so that they will try to follow us. And then as a result of  \add what I will do to the\add* king and his army and his chariots and his horsemen, \add my people\add* will praise/thank me.
\v 18 And when I have won a glorious  \add victory\add* over the king and his chariots and his horsemen, the  \add other\add* Egyptians will know that I, Yahweh, \add have the power to do what I say that I will do\add*.”
\p
\v 19 Then the angel of God, who had been in front of the Israeli people, moved and went behind them. The tall bright cloud that had been in front of them also moved behind them,
\v 20 until it was between the Egyptian army and the Israeli people. The cloud caused the Egyptian army to be in the darkness but it gave light for the Israelis. As a result, neither group could come near the other group during the whole night.
\p
\v 21 \add That evening\add*, Moses/I stretched out his/my hand  \add as though he/I was stretching it\add* over the sea. Then Yahweh sent a strong wind from the east. It blew all night and pushed the water apart, and it caused the land between the water to dry up.
\v 22 Then the Israeli people went on the dry land in the middle of the sea. The water was like a wall on each side of us, on the right side and on the left side.
\v 23 Then the Egyptian army pursued them, and went after them into the middle of the sea, with their horses and their chariots and the chariot-drivers.
\v 24 Just before dawn, Yahweh looked down from the fiery cloud, and then he caused the Egyptian army to panic.
\v 25 He caused the wheels of the chariots to get stuck  \add in the mud\add*, so that they could hardly move. So the Egyptians said, “Yahweh is fighting for the Israelis and against us; let's get out of here!”
\p
\v 26 Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Stretch out your arm  \add as though you were stretching it\add* over the sea. Then the water will come back on the Egyptians and on their chariots and their horsemen.”
\v 27 So Moses/I stretched out his/my arm, and as the sun was rising, the water returned to its normal level. The Egyptians tried to escape, but Yahweh hurled them back into the sea.
\v 28 The water returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen and the whole Egyptian army that had tried to follow the Israelis into the sea. Every one of the Egyptians drowned.
\v 29 But the Israeli people had already crossed through the sea by walking on dry ground, with the water being  \add like two\add* walls, one on the right side and one on the left side.
\p
\v 30 That is the way Yahweh saved the Israeli people from the Egyptian army on that day. The Israeli people saw the Egyptians lying dead, \add with their bodies washed up\add* on the shore.
\v 31 The Israelis saw what Yahweh did to the Egyptians by his great power [MTY], and they were in awe of Yahweh. They trusted in Yahweh and they also trusted in Moses/me.
\c 15
\s1 The Israelis celebrated being rescued
\p
\v 1 Then Moses/I sang this song, and the Israeli people \add have been singing it occasionally ever since:\add*
\q1 “I will sing to Yahweh, because he has triumphed gloriously;
\q2 He has thrown the horses and their riders into the sea!
\q1
\v 2 Yahweh is the one who makes me strong, and he is the one I sing about.
\q2 He is the one who has saved me.
\q1 He is ◄my God/God, the one I worship►, and I will praise him.
\q2 He is the one my father worshiped,
\q2 and I will tell \add others\add* how great he is.
\q1
\v 3 Yahweh is a warrior;
\q2 Yahweh is his name.
\q1
\v 4 He has thrown the king's chariots and his army
\q2 into the sea;
\q1 His best officers
\q2 all drowned in the Red Sea (OR, Gulf of Suez).
\q1
\v 5 The \add water covered them like\add* a flood;
\q2 they sank to the bottom like a stone.
\q1
\v 6 O Yahweh, your right arm has awesome power;
\q2 with that power [MTY], O Yahweh, you have crushed/smashed the enemy into pieces.
\q1
\v 7 You have gloriously defeated your enemies.
\q1 Because you were angry with them, you have \add destroyed them\add*
\q2 like a fire burns up straw [SIM].
\q1
\v 8 You blew on the sea,
\q2 and the water piled up high;
\q1 the water stood up like two walls.
\q1 In the deepest part of the sea \add the water\add* became thick/solid,
\q2 \add as though\add* it was frozen.
\q1
\v 9 \add Our\add* enemies said, ‘We will pursue them
\q2 and catch up to them.
\q1 We will draw our swords
\q2 and strike them.
\q1 After we defeat them,
\q2 we will divide up the spoils.
\q1 We will take \add from them\add* all we want.’
\q1
\v 10 But you blew on them with your breath,
\q2 and then the sea covered them.
\q1 They sank like lead/rocks in the big waves.
\q1
\v 11 Yahweh, among their gods, there is no god like you [RHQ]!
\q2 You are glorious, completely different from all that you made.
\q1 ◄There is no one like you!/What god is like you?► [RHQ]
\q2 There is no one who can perform all kinds of miracles [DOU] like you do [RHQ]!
\q1
\v 12 When you stretched out your right hand,
\q2 the earth swallowed up \add our enemies\add*
\q1
\v 13 You faithfully loved the people you rescued;
\q2 with your power you are leading them to the land that you have set apart.
\q1
\v 14 The people of \add other\add* nations will hear \add what you have done\add*;
\q2 and they will tremble.
\q1 The people in Philistia will be terrified.
\q1
\v 15 The chiefs in Edom will be dismayed.
\q2 The leaders in Moab will be so afraid, they will shake. All those who live in Canaan will faint.
\q1
\v 16 They will be terrified and fearful because of your great strength [MTY].
\q2 But they will be as silent as stones
\q2 until your people march past them,
\q2 the people you freed from being slaves in Egypt,
\q2
\v 17 to go to \add Canaan land\add*.
\q1 You will enable them to live [MET] on your hill,
\q2 at the place that you, O Yahweh, have chosen to be your home,
\q1 in the ◄holy place/temple►
\q2 that you yourself will build.
\q1
\v 18 O Yahweh, you will rule forever!
\p
\v 19 When the king's horses and chariots and horsemen tried to go through the sea, Yahweh caused the water to come back and cover them. But the Israeli people walked through the middle of the sea on dry ground.”
\v 20 Then Miriam, who was Aaron's older sister and a ◄prophetess/woman who spoke messages that came directly from God►, picked up her tambourine,
\v 21 and she sang to Yahweh this song:
\q1 “Sing to Yahweh,
\q2 because he has triumphed gloriously \add over his enemies\add*.
\q1 He has thrown the horses and their riders into the sea.”
\s1 Yahweh made bitter water become good water to drink
\p
\v 22 Then Moses/I led the Israeli people away from the Red Sea (OR, Gulf of Suez). They/we went to the desert at Shur. They/We walked for three days, but they/we could not find any water.
\v 23 So they/we \add went on and\add* came to a \add place named\add* Marah. \add There was\add* water \add there, but\add* they/we could not drink it, because it was bitter. That is why they named the place Marah, \add which is the Hebrew word that means ❛bitter❜\add*.
\v 24 The people complained to Moses/me, saying, “What are we going to drink?”
\v 25 So Moses/I prayed earnestly to Yahweh. Then Yahweh showed him/me a tree. So he/I took \add one of the branches\add* and threw it into the water, and the water became good to drink. There at Marah, Yahweh gave them various laws to direct their lives. He also tested them there, to determine if they would obey him,
\v 26 by saying, “I am Yahweh, your God. If you will carefully obey me when I speak \add to you\add*, and do those things that I know are right, and pay close attention to all the things that I command you, I will keep you from being afflicted by all the diseases that I brought on the Egyptians. Do not forget that I am the one who heals you.”
\p
\v 27 \add After they/we left Marah\add*, they/we came to a \add place named\add* Elim. There were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees there. So they/we camped there.
\c 16
\s1 Yahweh gave them quail and manna to eat
\p
\v 1 They/We left Elim, and all the Israeli people came to the desert  \add named\add* Sin. That is between Elim and Sinai  \add Mountain\add*. That was on the fifteenth day of the second month after they/we left Egypt.
\v 2 There in the desert, the Israeli [HYP] people complained against Aaron and Moses/me.
\v 3 They said to them/us, “We wish that Yahweh had killed us in Egypt! There we had meat to eat, and all the bread that we wanted. But you have brought us into this desert in order that we will all starve to death!”
\p
\v 4 Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Listen to what I am going  \add to do\add*. I am going to send something from the sky that will  \add take the place of\add* bread for you. When I do that, the people must go out of their tents every day and gather enough to eat on that day. \add When I do that\add*, I will find out whether they will obey my instructions or not.
\v 5 On the sixth day  \add after I start doing that\add*, they will be able to gather twice as much as on the other days, \add and not have to gather any on the seventh day\add*. Then they can prepare it  \add to eat it\add*.”
\p
\v 6 So Aaron and Moses/I said to all the Israeli people, “This evening you will know that it was Yahweh, \add not we\add*, who brought you out of Egypt.
\v 7 And tomorrow morning you will see how great Yahweh is, because he has heard what you have complained against him. He is the one whom you have really complained to, because we are just his servants.” [RHQ]
\v 8 Then Moses/I also said, “\add Each\add* evening Yahweh will give you meat to eat, and  \add each\add* morning he will give you  \add something that will take the place of\add* bread, because he has heard what you have complained about. Yahweh is the one to whom you have really complained, not us. We are just his servants.” [RHQ]
\p
\v 9 Then Moses/I said to Aaron, “Tell all the Israeli people, ‘Come and stand here in the presence of Yahweh, because he has heard what you have been complaining about.’”
\p
\v 10 So Aaron told them that. And as Aaron was talking to all the Israeli people, they looked toward the desert, and were surprised to see the ◄dazzling light/incredible brightness► of Yahweh in the cloud  \add that had been leading them\add*.
\v 11 Then Yahweh said to Moses/me,
\v 12 “I have heard what the Israeli people have been complaining about. So say to them, ‘At twilight/dusk, you will have meat to eat. And tomorrow morning you will have something that will take the place of bread. You will have all you want of it to eat.’ Then you will know that I, Yahweh, \add have the power to do what I say that I will do\add*.”
\p
\v 13 That evening, ◄quails/small plump birds► appeared, and  \add there were so many that\add* they covered the campsite. The next morning there was  \add something like\add* dew all around the campsite.
\v 14 When the dew evaporated, on the surface of the desert there was a thick layer of something that looked like white flakes. On the ground, it looked like frost.
\v 15 When the Israeli people saw it, since they  \add had never seen it before and\add* did not know what it was, they said to each other, “What is it?” Moses/I replied to them, “It is something Yahweh has given you to eat, to take the place of bread.
\v 16 This is what Yahweh has commanded: ‘Each of you should gather as much as you need to eat. Gather two quarts/liters for each person who lives in your tents.’”
\p
\v 17 So that is what the Israeli people did. Some gathered more and some gathered less.
\v 18 But when they measured  \add what they had gathered\add*, those that had gathered a lot did not have anything left over. And those that gathered less still had enough to eat. Each person gathered just what they needed.
\p
\v 19 Moses/I said to them, “Do not leave any of it to eat tomorrow morning!”
\v 20 But some of them did not pay any attention to what Moses/I said. They kept some of it until the next morning. But it was full of maggots and smelled rotten. And that made Moses/me angry.
\p
\v 21 Each morning they gathered as much as they needed. But  \add later\add*, when the sun got hot, \add what was left on the ground\add* melted.
\p
\v 22 On the sixth day after they started gathering it, each person was able to gather four quarts/liters, which was twice  \add as much as they gathered on the other days\add*. When the leaders of the people came to Moses/me and told him/me  \add about that\add*, 
\v 23 Moses/I said to them, “This is what Yahweh has commanded: ‘Tomorrow will be a day for you to rest completely. It will be a day dedicated to Yahweh. So today, bake or boil what you will  \add need for today and for tomorrow\add*. Whatever is left  \add this evening\add*, you should put aside and keep it  \add to eat\add* tomorrow.’”
\p
\v 24 So they did what Moses/I commanded. What was left over, they kept until the next day. It did not spoil and did not get maggots in it!
\v 25 \add On that day\add*, Moses/I said, “Eat today  \add what you have saved from yesterday\add*, because today is a day dedicated to Yahweh. Today you will not find any of that food outside.
\v 26 \add Every week\add*, you must gather it for six days; but on the seventh day, which will be a day of rest, you will not find any.”
\v 27 On the seventh day, some of the people went outside their tents to gather some of that food, but there was none.
\v 28 Then Yahweh  \add told Moses/me to say this to\add* the people: “How long will you people refuse to do all the things that I tell you?
\v 29 Listen! Yahweh has given you a day of rest. So on the sixth day  \add of each week\add*, he will be giving you enough of this food for two days. Each of you should stay in his tent  \add and do no work\add* on the seventh day!”
\v 30 So the people rested on the seventh day.
\p
\v 31 The Israeli people called this food manna, \add which sounds like the words in their language that mean ❛what is it\add*?❜ It looked like small seeds  \add called\add* coriander, but it was white, and it tasted like thin wafers/biscuits made with honey.
\v 32 Moses/I said, “This is what Yahweh has commanded: ‘You must keep two quarts/liters of it for all future generations, so that they can see the  \add food that took the place of\add* bread that I gave to your  \add ancestors\add* when I brought them out of Egypt.’”
\v 33 And he/I said to Aaron, “Take a jar, and put two quarts of manna in it. Then put it  \add in a place\add* where Yahweh can see it. It is to be kept like that for all future generations.”
\v 34 \add Many years later\add*, as Yahweh had commanded Moses/me, Aaron put the jar in front of the box  \add that contained the stone slabs on which\add* the Ten Commandments  \add were written\add*.
\v 35 The Israeli people were able to eat manna  \add every day\add* for forty years, until they came to the border of Canaan land.
\v 36 (The standard measure  \add that they used at that time\add* held 20 quarts/liters.)
\c 17
\s1 Yahweh provided water gushing from a rock
\p
\v 1 Obeying what Yahweh commanded, all the Israeli people moved from the Sin desert. They/We traveled from one place to another. They/We camped at  \add a place named\add* Rephidim, but there was no water there for ◄the people/us► to drink.
\v 2 So the people complained to Moses/me again, saying, “Give us water to drink!” Moses/I replied to them, “Why are you ◄criticizing/arguing with► me [RHQ]? And why are you trying to determine whether Yahweh  \add has the power to provide for you\add*?” 
\v 3 But the people were very thirsty, and they continued to complain to Moses/me. They were saying things like “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt?”, and “Did you bring us here to cause us and our children to die ◄from thirst/because we had no water to drink► [RHQ]?”
\p
\v 4 So Moses/I prayed earnestly to Yahweh. He/I said, “◄How shall I deal with these people?/I do not know how to deal with these people!► [RHQ] They are almost ready to  \add kill me by throwing\add* stones at me!”
\v 5 Yahweh replied to Moses/me, “Take some of the elders/leaders of the Israeli people with you and  \add tell the rest of\add* the people to follow you  \add to\add* Sinai Mountain. Take along the stick with which you struck the Nile  \add River\add*.
\v 6 Listen carefully: I will stand in front of you on top of a  \add large\add* rock at the foot of the mountain. Strike the rock with your stick. \add When you do that\add*, water for the people to drink will flow out of the rock.” \add When they/we arrived at the mountain\add*, Moses/I did that while the Israeli elders were watching, \add and water flowed from the rock\add*.
\v 7 Moses/I gave that place two names  \add in the Hebrew language:\add* Massah, \add which means ❛testing❜\add*, and Meribah, \add which means ❛complaining❜\add*. He/I gave it the name Massah because the Israeli people were testing Yahweh, saying “Is Yahweh really among us  \add and able to help us\add*, or not?”, and he/I gave it the name Meribah because they were  \add continually\add* complaining.
\s1 God enabled the Israeli men to defeat the Amalekites
\p
\v 8 Then the descendants of the Amalek people-group came and fought against the Israeli people at Rephidim.
\v 9 Moses/I said to Joshua, \add who was one of our army/Israeli leaders\add*, “Choose some men to go out and fight against the Amalek people-group tomorrow. I will stand on the top of the hill, holding the stick that God told me to carry.”
\v 10 So Joshua did what Moses/I told him to do. He took some men to fight against the Amalek people-group. \add While they were fighting\add*, Aaron, Hur, and Moses/I went up to the top of the hill  \add so that they/we could see the whole battle area\add*.
\v 11 Whenever Moses/I lifted up his/my arms, the Israeli men started to win  \add the battle\add*. And whenever he/I lowered his/my arms, the Amalek people-group started to win.
\v 12 But his/my arms became tired. So Aaron and Hur  \add rolled\add* a  \add large\add* stone for Moses/me to sit on. \add While he/I was sitting on it\add*, those two held up his/my arms. In that way, they kept his/my arms lifted up steadily until the sun went down.
\v 13 So Joshua and the men with him completely defeated the Amalek people-group, using their swords  \add to fight against them\add*.
\v 14 Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Write an account of this battle, and then read it to Joshua. \add Also write that some day\add* I will completely get rid of the Amalek people-group.”
\v 15 Then Moses/I built a  \add stone\add* altar there and named it ❛Yahweh is  \add like\add* my flag❜.
\v 16 He/I said, “Hold high Yahweh's flag! Yahweh will continue to fight against the Amalek people-group ◄forever/in all future generations►!”
\c 18
\s1 Moses' father-in-law, Jethro, came to visit him
\p
\v 1 Jethro, who was the priest for the Midian people-group, and who was also Moses'/my father-in-law, heard about all that God had done for the Israeli people. He heard about how Yahweh had brought them out of Egypt.
\v 2 Moses/I had  \add previously\add* sent his/my wife Zipporah  \add back home when he/I was returning to Egypt\add*. But now Jethro came to him/me,
\v 3 bringing Zipporah and her two sons. One son was named Gershom, \add which sounds like the Hebrew word that means ❛foreigner❜\add*, because he/I had said, “I have been a foreigner living in another land.”
\v 4 Her other son was named Eliezer, \add which sounds like the Hebrew words that mean ❛God helps me❜\add*, because  \add he/I\add* had said “God, whom my father  \add worshiped\add*, has helped me and saved  \add me\add* from being killed [MTY] by the king  \add of Egypt\add*.”
\p
\v 5 While Moses/I was camped  \add with the Israeli people\add* in the desert  \add near Sinai\add*, God's sacred/holy mountain, Jethro came to him/me, bringing along Moses'/my wife and our  \add two\add* sons.
\v 6 Jethro had sent a message to Moses/me, “I, your father-in-law, Jethro, am coming to see you, bringing along your wife and her two sons!”
\v 7 So Moses/I went out of the campsite to meet his/my father-in-law. He/I bowed before him, and kissed him  \add on the cheek\add*. ◄They both/We► asked each other, “Have you been healthy?” Then they/we went into  \add Moses'/my\add* tent.
\v 8 Moses/I told Jethro everything that Yahweh had done to the king and all the  \add other\add* people in Egypt for the sake of the Israeli people. He/I also told him about the troubles/problems they/we had experienced on the way, and how Yahweh had helped them/us.
\v 9 Jethro rejoiced when he heard all that Yahweh had done for the Israeli people.
\v 10 He said, “Praise Yahweh, who has rescued you from the powerful [MTY] Egyptian king and his army!
\v 11 Now I realize that Yahweh is greater than all other gods, because he rescued you from the power [MTY] of the proud Egyptians when  \add they\add* were causing you  \add to suffer\add*.”
\v 12 Then Jethro brought an animal to sacrifice it by burning it completely on the altar  \add as an offering\add*, and he also offered other sacrifices to God. Aaron and the Israeli elders/leaders went with them/us to eat a sacred meal with Jethro.
\s1 Jethro gave Moses some good advice about appointing judges
\p
\v 13 The next day, Moses/I sat down at the place where he/I settled disputes among the people. The people were continually bringing their disputes to Moses/me, from the morning until the evening.
\v 14 When Jethro saw everything that Moses/I was doing for the people, he said, “◄Why are you doing all this for the people?/You should not be doing all this for the people!► [RHQ] Why are you doing this by yourself, and all the people are standing around you, from the morning until the evening, \add asking you to make decisions for them\add* [RHQ]?”
\v 15 Moses/I replied, “\add I am doing this\add* because the people keep coming to me to find out what God desires.
\v 16 When they have a dispute about something, they come to me, and they ask me to decide which of them is right. I also tell them all of God's laws and instructions.”
\v 17 Jethro said to him/me, “What you are doing is not good  \add for you or for the people\add*.
\v 18 You and these people will ◄wear yourselves out/become exhausted►! This work is too much for you. You are not able to do it by yourself.
\v 19 Now listen to some good advice [MTY] I will give to you. \add If you do what I suggest\add*, God will help you. You should continue to speak to God and tell him about the people's disputes.
\v 20 You should  \add also\add* teach them what God has commanded and instructed you. You should also explain to them how they should conduct their lives, and the things that they should do.
\v 21 In addition, you should choose some  \add other men to help you\add*. Choose men who have reverence for God and who will not accept bribes. Appoint some of them to make decisions  \add for groups of\add* ten people, \add some for groups of\add* fifty  \add people\add*, \add some for groups of\add* a hundred  \add people\add*, \add and some for groups of\add* a thousand  \add people\add*.
\v 22 Allow them to serve permanently to settle disputes for the people. The difficult matters they can bring to you; but the matters that are not difficult, they can decide themselves. That will make the work easier for you, as they help you do that work.
\v 23 If you do that, and  \add I think that\add* God is telling you to do it (OR, if God tells you to do it), you will ◄be able to endure the stress/not become exhausted►, and all the people will be able to go home peacefully, \add with their disputes settled quickly”\add*.
\p
\v 24 Moses/I accepted what his/my father-in-law  \add Jethro\add* suggested.
\v 25 Moses/I chose capable men from among the Israeli people.
\v 26 They were appointed permanently to decide about the people's disputes. They brought the difficult cases to Moses/me, but they decided the matters that were not difficult by themselves.
\v 27 Then Moses/I said goodbye to his/my father-in-law, and Jethro returned home.
\c 19
\s1 Yahweh gave instructions to Moses at Sinai Mountain.
\p
\v 1-2 The Israeli people then left Rephidim, and exactly two months after leaving Egypt, they/we came to the desert near Sinai  \add Mountain\add*. They/We set up their/our tents at the base of the mountain.
\v 3 Moses/I climbed up the mountain  \add to talk with\add* God. Yahweh called to  \add him/me\add* from  \add the top of\add* the mountain and said, “This is what I want you to say to the Israeli people, the descendants of Jacob:
\v 4 ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians. You have seen  \add what I did for all of you\add* and how I brought you here to me. It was as though I  \add lifted you up as\add* an eagle  \add carries its young eaglets\add* on its wings [MET].
\v 5 So now, if you will do what I tell you and obey all that I command you, you will be my own people. All the people-groups on the earth are mine, but you will be ◄dearer/more special► to me than all the other people-groups.
\v 6 You will be people over whom I will rule, and you will all ◄be like priests/represent me to other nations as priests represent me to one nation► [MET], and you will be completely dedicated to me.’ That is what you must tell the Israeli people.”
\p
\v 7 So Moses/I went  \add down the mountain\add* and summoned the elders/leaders of the people. He/I told them everything that Yahweh had told him/me to tell them.
\v 8 The people all said, “We will do everything that Yahweh has told us to do.” Then Moses/I  \add climbed back up the mountain and\add* reported to Yahweh what the people had said.
\p
\v 9 Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Listen carefully: I am going to appear to you from inside a thick cloud. When I am speaking to you, the people will hear it, and they will always trust in you.” Then Moses/I went  \add down the mountain and reported to the people what Yahweh said. Then he/I went back up the mountain and\add* told Yahweh what the people replied.
\v 10 Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Go  \add back down\add* to the people  \add again\add*. \add Tell them to\add* purify themselves today and tomorrow. \add Tell them to\add* wash their clothes, too.
\v 11 They must do that to be ready on the day after tomorrow. On that day I will come down to Sinai Mountain to where all the people can see me.
\v 12 You must make a boundary around the base of the mountain, and tell them, ‘Be sure that you do not climb the mountain or even go near it. Anyone who even touches the base of the mountain must be executed.’
\v 13 Do not let anyone touch any person or any animal that touches the mountain. You must  \add kill any person or animal that touches the mountain\add* by throwing stones at it or shooting it  \add with arrows\add*. But when you hear a long  \add loud\add* trumpet sound, the people can come close to the  \add base of the\add* mountain.”
\p
\v 14 So Moses/I went down the mountain  \add again\add* and told the people to purify themselves. They did what Moses/I told them to do, and they also washed their clothes.
\v 15 Then Moses/I said to the people, “Be ready on the day after tomorrow. And  \add you men\add* must not have sex with [EUP] \add your wives\add* until after then.”
\p
\v 16 Two days later, during the morning, there was thunder and lightning, and a very dark cloud on the mountain. A trumpet sounded very loudly, with the result that the people in the camp shook/trembled because they  \add were very afraid\add*.
\v 17 Then Moses/I led the people outside the camp to meet with God. They stood around the base of the mountain.
\v 18 All of Sinai Mountain was covered in smoke, because Yahweh had descended on it, surrounded by a fire. The smoke rose up like the smoke from  \add the chimney of\add* a furnace, and the whole mountain shook violently.
\v 19 As the sound of the trumpet continued to become louder, Moses/I spoke  \add to Yahweh\add*, and Yahweh answered  \add him/me\add* in  \add a loud voice that sounded like\add* thunder.
\v 20 Then Yahweh came down  \add again\add* onto the top of Sinai Mountain, and he summoned Moses/me to come up to the top of the mountain. So Moses/I went up.
\v 21 Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Go down again and warn the people not to cross the boundary in order to look  \add at me\add*. If they  \add do\add* that, many of them will die.
\v 22 Also, the priests who habitually come near me must purify themselves. If they do not do that, I will punish them.”
\p
\v 23 Then Moses/I said to Yahweh, “The people will not climb the mountain, because you commanded them, saying, ‘Set a boundary around the mountain, to make it sacred/taboo.’”
\v 24 Yahweh replied, “Go down the mountain, and bring Aaron back up with you. But do not allow the priests or other people to cross the boundary to come up to me. If they cross it, I will punish them.”
\v 25 So Moses/I went down the mountain  \add again\add* and told the people  \add what Yahweh had said\add*.
\c 20
\s1 God gave the people the Ten Commandments
\p
\v 1 Then God spoke these words  \add to the Israeli people:\add*
\v 2 “I am Yahweh God, the one you  \add worship\add*. I am the one who brought you out of the land of Egypt. I am the one who freed you from being slaves  \add there\add*.
\v 3 \add So\add* you must worship  \add only\add* me; you must not worship any other god.
\v 4 You must not carve/make for yourselves any idol that represents anything in the sky or that is on the ground or that is in the water under the ground/earth.
\v 5 You must not bow down to any idol and worship it, because I am Yahweh God, and I ◄am very jealous/want you to worship me only►. I will punish those who sin and hate me. I will punish not only them, but I will punish ◄their descendants, down to the third and fourth generation/their children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren►.
\v 6 But I will steadfastly love thousands of generations of those who love me and obey my commandments (OR, I will love for thousands of generations.)
\p
\v 7 Do not use my name carelessly (OR, for wrong/evil purposes), because I am Yahweh God, the one whom you  \add should worship\add*, and I will certainly punish those who use my name for wrong/evil purposes [LIT].
\p
\v 8 Do not forget that the seventh day  \add of every week\add* is mine, so dedicate those days to me.
\v 9 There are six days each week for you to do all your work,
\v 10 but the seventh day is a day of rest, a day dedicated to me, Yahweh God, the one whom you  \add should worship\add*. On that day you must not do any work. You and your sons and daughters and your male and female slaves must not work. You must not even force your livestock to work, and you must not allow foreigners to work, those who are living in your country.
\v 11 I, Yahweh, created the sky, the earth, the ocean, and everything that is in them, in six days. Then I stopped my work of creating everything, and rested on the seventh day. That is the reason that I, Yahweh, have blessed the rest day and set it apart  \add to be a sacred/special day\add*.
\p
\v 12 Honor/Respect your fathers and your mothers, in order that you may live a long time in the land that I, Yahweh God, will give you.
\p
\v 13 Do not murder anyone.
\p
\v 14 Do not ◄commit adultery/have sex with anyone other than your spouse►.
\p
\v 15 Do not steal anything.
\p
\v 16 Do not falsely accuse anyone  \add of committing a crime\add*.
\p
\v 17 Do not ◄covet/desire to have► someone else's house, someone else's wife, someone else's male or female slave, someone else's livestock, someone else's donkeys, or anything else that some other person owns.”
\p
\v 18 When the people heard the thunder and saw the lightning, and when they heard the sound of the trumpet and saw the smoke on the mountain, they were afraid and trembled. They stood at a distance,
\v 19 and said to Moses/me, “If you speak to us, we will listen. But do not let God speak anymore to us. \add We are afraid that\add* if he speaks  \add anymore\add* to us, we will die.”
\v 20 Moses/I replied to the people, “Do not be afraid! God has come to determine/test  \add how you will behave\add*. He wants you to revere him, and to not sin.”
\p
\v 21 Then, as the people  \add watched from\add* a distance, Moses/I went close to the black cloud where God was.
\p
\v 22-23 Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Say this to the Israeli people: You have heard how I, Yahweh, have spoken to you from heaven. I told you that you must not make any idols of silver or gold  \add that you will worship instead\add* of me.
\v 24 Make for me an altar from dirt. Sacrifice on it the animals that you will burn completely. Also sacrifice on it the animals that you will not burn completely, to restore fellowship with other people. Worship me [MTY] in any place that I choose for you to honor/worship me; and if you do that, I will come to you and bless you.
\v 25 If you make for me an altar from stones, do not make it from stones that you have cut  \add to make them look nice\add*, because you will make the altar unsuitable for  \add worshiping\add* me if you use tools to cut the stones.
\v 26 Do not make an altar that has steps in front of it, because if you do that, \add people\add* could see your naked  \add buttocks\add* as you go up the steps.”
\c 21
\s1 Instructions for treating slaves
\p
\v 1 “Here are some  \add other\add* instructions to give to  \add the Israeli people\add*: 
\v 2 When/If you buy a Hebrew slave, he is to serve you for  \add only\add* six years. In the seventh year you must free him  \add from being your slave\add*, and he is not required to pay you anything  \add for setting him free\add*.
\v 3 If he was not married before he became your slave, and if he marries  \add someone while he is your slave\add*, his wife is not to be set free  \add with him\add*. But if he was married before he became your slave, you must free both him and his wife.
\v 4 If a slave's master gives him a wife, and she gives birth to sons or daughters  \add while her husband is a slave\add*, only the man is to be freed. His wife and children will continue to be slaves of their master.
\v 5 But when it is time for the slave to be set free, if the slave says, ‘I love my master and my wife and my children, and I do not want to be set free,’
\v 6 then his master must take him to  \add the place where they worship\add* God (OR, to  \add the owner's\add* house). There he must make the slave stand against the door or the doorpost. Then the master will use an ◄awl/pointed metal rod► to make a hole in the slave's ear. Then  \add he will fasten a tag to the slave's ear to indicate that\add* ◄he will own that slave for the rest of his life/he will own the slave as long as the slave lives►.
\p
\v 7 If a man sells his daughter to become a slave, she should not be set free  \add after six years\add*, as the male slaves are.
\v 8 If the man who bought her wanted her to be his wife, but if  \add later\add* he is not pleased with her, he must sell her back to her father. He must not sell her to a foreigner, because that would be breaking the contract/agreement  \add he made with the girl's father\add*.
\v 9 If the man who buys her wants her to be a wife for his son, he must then treat her as though she were his own daughter.
\v 10 If the master takes another slave girl to be another wife for himself, he must continue to give the first slave wife the same amount of food and clothing that he gave to her before, and he must continue to have sex [EUP] with her as before.
\v 11 If he does not do all these three things for her, he must free her  \add from being a slave\add*, and she is not required to pay anything  \add for being set free\add*.
\p
\v 12 You must execute anyone who strikes another person with the result that the person who is struck dies.
\v 13 But if the one who struck the other did not intend to kill that person, the one who struck him can escape to a place that I will choose for you, \add and he will be safe there\add*.
\v 14 But if someone gets angry with another person and kills him, even if the murderer runs to the altar, \add a place that God designated as a place to be safe\add*, you must execute him.
\p
\v 15 Anyone who strikes his father or mother must surely be executed.
\p
\v 16 Anyone who kidnaps another person, either in order to sell that person or to keep him as a slave, must be executed.
\p
\v 17 Anyone who reviles/curses his father or his mother must be executed.
\p
\v 18 Suppose two people fight, and one strikes the other with a stone or with his fist. And suppose the person he strikes does not die but is injured and has to stay in bed  \add for a while\add*, 
\v 19 and later he is able to walk outside using a cane. Then the person who struck him does not have to be punished. However, he must pay the injured person the money he could not earn  \add while he was recovering\add*, and he must also pay the injured person's medical expenses until that person is well.
\p
\v 20 If someone strikes his male or female slave with a stick, if the slave dies ◄immediately/as a result► [IDI], the one who struck him must be punished.
\v 21 But if the slave lives for a day or two after he is struck  \add and then dies\add*, you must not punish the one who struck him. Not having that slave to be able to work for him any longer is enough punishment.
\p
\v 22 Suppose two people are fighting and they hurt a pregnant woman with the result that ◄she has a miscarriage/her baby is born prematurely and dies►. If the woman is not harmed in any other way, the one who injured her must pay a fine. He must pay whatever the woman's husband demands, after a judge approves of the fine.
\v 23 But if the woman is injured in some additional way, the one who injured her must be caused to suffer in exactly the same way  \add that he caused her to suffer\add*. If she dies, he must be executed.
\v 24-25 If her eye is injured or destroyed, or if he knocks out one of her teeth, or her hand or foot is injured, or if she is burned or bruised, the one who injured her must be injured in the same way.
\v 26 If the owner of a slave strikes the eye of his male or female slave and ruins it, he must free that slave because of  \add what he did to\add* the slave's eye.
\v 27 If someone knocks out one of his slave's teeth, he must free the slave because of  \add what he did to\add* the slave's tooth.
\p
\v 28 If a bull gores a man or woman with the result that the person dies, you  \add must kill the bull by\add* throwing stones at it, but you must not punish the owner of the bull.
\v 29 But suppose the bull had attacked people several times before, and its owner had been warned, but he did not keep the bull inside a fence. Then you  \add must kill the bull by\add* throwing stones at it, but you must also execute its owner.
\v 30 However, if the owner of the bull is allowed to pay a fine ◄to save his own life/in order not to be executed►, he must pay the full amount that the judges say that he must pay.
\v 31 If someone's bull attacks and gores another person's son or daughter, you must treat the bull's owner according to that same rule.
\v 32 If a bull attacks and gores a male or female slave, its owner must pay to the slave's owner thirty pieces of silver. Then you must  \add kill the bull by\add* throwing stones at it.
\p
\v 33 Suppose someone has a pit/cistern and does not keep it covered, and someone's bull or donkey falls into it  \add and dies\add*.
\v 34 Then the owner of the pit/cistern must pay for the animal that died. He must give the money to the animal's owner, but then he can take away the animal that died and  \add do whatever he wants to with it\add*.
\v 35 If someone's bull hurts another person's bull with the result that it dies, the owners of both bulls must sell the bull that is living, and they must divide  \add between them\add* the money  \add that they receive\add* for it. They must also divide  \add between them the meat of\add* the animal that died.
\v 36 However, if people know that the bull often attacked other animals previously, and its owner did not keep it inside a fence, then the owner of that bull must give the owner of the bull that died one of his own bulls, but he can take away the animal that died  \add and do with it whatever he wants to do\add*.”
\c 22
\s1 Laws regarding possessions
\p
\v 1 Yahweh also said, “If someone steals a bull or a sheep, and then slaughters it  \add to sell it or to sacrifice it\add* or sells its  \add meat to someone else\add*, he must pay five bulls for the bull  \add that he stole\add*, and  \add he must pay\add* four sheep for the sheep  \add that he stole\add*.
\p
\v 2 If a thief is caught while he is breaking into someone else's house  \add at night\add*, if  \add the one who catches him\add* kills the thief, he is not guilty of murdering him.
\v 3 But if that happens during the daytime, \add the one who killed the thief\add* is guilty of murdering him. The thief must pay for what he stole. If he has no  \add animals with which to pay for the one that he stole\add*, he must be sold to  \add become someone's else's slave and the money must be used\add* to pay for what he stole.
\v 4 If the thief still has the animal when he is caught, whether it is a bull or a donkey or a sheep, and it is still alive, the thief must give back  \add the stolen animal as well as giving\add* two  \add additional\add* animals for each one that he stole.
\p
\v 5 If someone allows his animals to ◄graze/eat the grass► in his field or in his vineyard, and if they stray away and eat the crops in another person's field, the owner of the animals must pay  \add the owner of those crops\add* by giving him the best crops from his own field or vineyard.
\p
\v 6 Suppose someone starts a fire in his own field, and the fire spreads through the grass and starts burning in someone else's field, and the fire burns grain that is growing or grain that is already  \add cut and\add* stacked. Then the person who started the fire must pay completely for the damage.
\p
\v 7 Suppose someone gives to another person some money or other valuable goods and asks him to guard them  \add in his house for a while\add*. If those things are stolen from that person's house, if the thief is caught, he must pay back twice  \add as much as he stole\add*.
\v 8 But if the thief is not caught, the owner of the house  \add from which the things were stolen\add* must stand before the judges, so that the judges can determine whether  \add the owner of the house\add* was the one who took the other man's goods  \add and sold them to someone else\add*.
\p
\v 9 If two people argue about which one of them owns a bull or a donkey or a sheep or some clothing, or something else that has been lost, the two people who each claim/say that the item belongs to them must stand before the judges. The one whom the judges declare is lying must pay back  \add to the real owner\add* twice as many bulls or donkeys or sheep or clothing.
\p
\v 10 Suppose someone gives his donkey or bull or sheep or some other animal to someone else and asks him to take care of it  \add for a while\add*, and the animal dies or is injured or is stolen while no one is watching.
\v 11 Then the person  \add who was taking care of the animal\add* must ◄swear/solemnly declare►, knowing that God is listening, that he did not steal the animal. If he did not steal it the owner of the animal must accept/believe that the other person is telling the truth, and the other person will not have to pay anything back to the owner.
\v 12 But if the animal was stolen  \add while he was supposed to be taking care of it\add*, the man who promised to take care of it must pay back the owner for the animal.
\v 13 If  \add he says that\add* the animal was killed by wild animals, he must bring back the remains of the animal that was killed and show it to the animal's owner. If he does that, he will not have to pay anything for the animal.
\p
\v 14 If someone borrows an animal, and if that animal is hurt or dies when its owner is not there, the one who borrowed it must pay the owner for the animal.
\v 15 But if that happens when the owner of the animal is there, the one who borrowed it will not have to pay back anything. If the man who borrowed it only rented it, the money that he paid to rent it will be enough to pay for the animal  \add dying or being injured\add*.”
\s1 Laws concerning everyday life
\p
\v 16 “If a man persuades a girl/woman to have sex with him, a girl/woman who ◄is a virgin/has never had sex with any man► and who is not engaged to be married, he must pay the bride price for her and marry her.
\v 17 But if her father refuses to allow her to marry him, he must pay to the woman's father the amount of money that is equal to the amount of bride price money that men pay for virgins.
\p
\v 18 You must execute any woman who ◄practices sorcery/is a shaman►.
\p
\v 19 You must execute any person who has sex with an animal.
\p
\v 20 You  \add must offer sacrifices\add* only to Yahweh. You must execute anyone who offers a sacrifice to any  \add other\add* god.
\p
\v 21 You must not mistreat a foreigner  \add who comes to live among you\add*. Do not forget that you were previously foreigners in Egypt.
\p
\v 22 You must not mistreat any widow or any orphan.
\v 23 If you mistreat them and they cry out to me  \add for help\add*, I will hear them.
\v 24 And I will be angry with you, and I will cause you to be killed in a war [MTY]. Your wives will become widows, and your children will no longer have fathers.
\p
\v 25 If you lend money to any of my people who are poor, do not act like a moneylender and require him to pay interest on the money.
\v 26 If he gives you his cloak to guarantee  \add that he will pay the money back\add*, you must give the cloak back to him before the sun goes down,
\v 27 because he needs it to keep him warm  \add during the night\add*. ◄That is the only covering that poor people have when they sleep at night./What else will he cover himself with during the night?► [RHQ] \add If you do not act mercifully toward him by returning his cloak\add*, when he cries out to me asking for my help, I will help him, because I  \add always act\add* mercifully.
\p
\v 28 Do not ◄revile/speak evil about► me, and do not ◄curse/ask me to do harmful things to► any ruler of your people.
\p
\v 29 ◄Do not withhold from/Give► me the best parts of the grain that you harvest and of the olive oil and the wine that you produce.
\p
\v 30 You must dedicate your firstborn sons to me. Similarly, your firstborn  \add male\add* cattle and sheep belong to me. After those animals are born, allow them to stay with their mothers for seven days. On the eighth day, offer them to me  \add as a sacrifice\add*.
\p
\v 31 You are people who are ◄completely dedicated to/set apart for► me. \add And I detest\add* the meat of any animal that has been killed by wild animals. Therefore you should not eat such meat. Instead, throw it where the dogs  \add can eat it\add*.”
\c 23
\s1 Treat people and animals fairly
\p
\v 1 “Do not tell to others ◄false rumors/untrue reports► about other people. Do not help someone who is guilty by ◄testifying falsely/lying► \add about what happened\add*.
\p
\v 2 Do not join with a group of people who are planning to do something evil. Do not testify in the way the  \add crowd wants you to\add*, if that will prevent  \add the judge from deciding the case\add* justly/fairly.
\v 3 When a poor person is on trial, do not  \add testify in\add* his favor  \add just\add* because he is poor  \add and you feel sorry for him\add*.
\p
\v 4 If you see someone's bull or donkey when it is wandering away  \add loose\add*, take it back to  \add its owner, even if the owner\add* is your enemy.
\v 5 If you see someone's donkey that has fallen down  \add because of its heavy load\add*, help the owner to get the donkey up again, \add even if\add* he is someone who hates you. Do not just walk away  \add without helping him\add*.
\p
\v 6 Decide the cases of poor people who are on trial  \add as\add* fairly  \add as you judge the cases of other people\add*.
\p
\v 7 Do not accuse people falsely. Do not decide that innocent and righteous [DOU] people should be executed, because I will ◄punish/not forgive► people who do such an evil thing.
\p
\v 8 Do not accept money that is a bribe, because officials who accept bribes are not able to [MTY] decide what is right to do, and they do not allow innocent people to be treated fairly.
\p
\v 9 Do not mistreat foreigners  \add who live among you\add*. You know  \add how people often treat\add* foreigners, because the Egyptians  \add did not treat you well when\add* you were foreigners there.
\p
\v 10 Plant  \add seeds\add* in your ground and gather the harvest for six years.
\v 11 But during the seventh year you must not plant anything. \add If things grow without your planting seeds\add*, allow the poor people  \add to harvest and\add* eat the crops. If there are still crops ◄left over/that they do not harvest►, allow the wild animals to eat them. Do the same thing with your grapevines/vineyards and your olive trees.
\p
\v 12 \add You may\add* work for six days  \add each week\add*, but on the seventh day you must rest  \add and not work\add*. And on the seventh day you must allow your work animals and your slaves and the foreigners  \add who live among you\add* also  \add to rest and\add* have their strength refreshed.
\p
\v 13 Make certain that you obey everything that I have commanded  \add you to do\add*. Do not pray to [MTY] other gods. Do not even mention their names.”
\s1 Rules about three annual festivals
\p
\v 14 “Every year you must celebrate three festivals to  \add honor\add* me.
\v 15 \add The first one\add* is the Festival of Bread That Has No Yeast. Celebrate it in the month  \add that is named\add* Abib. That is the month in which you left Egypt. Celebrate it in the way that I commanded you. Always bring [LIT] an offering when you come to worship me.
\v 16 The second one is the Festival of Harvesting. During that festival you must offer to me the first parts/harvest of your crops that grow from the seeds that you planted. The third one is the Festival of Shelters. That will be after you finish harvesting your grain and grapes and fruit.
\v 17 Every year, at each of these times, all the men must gather together to worship me, Yahweh God.
\p
\v 18 When you sacrifice an animal  \add and offer it\add* to me, you must not offer bread that has been baked with yeast. \add When you\add* offer sacrifices, \add burn\add* the fat  \add from the animals on that same day\add*. Do not allow any fat to remain until the next morning.
\p
\v 19 Each year, when you harvest your crops, bring to the place where you worship me, Yahweh God, the first part of what you harvest. When you kill a ◄young animal/kid  \add or lamb or calf►\add*, do not  \add prepare to eat it by\add* boiling it in its mother's milk.”
\s1 Yahweh gave the Israeli people several promises
\p
\v 20-21 “Note this: I am going to send an angel ahead of you, to guard you as you travel and to bring you safely to the place that I have prepared  \add for you\add*. Pay attention to what he says and obey him. Do not rebel against him, because he will have my authority [MTY] and he will ◄punish/not forgive► [LIT] you if you rebel against him.
\v 22 But if you pay attention to what he says and if you do all that I tell you  \add to do\add*, I will fight strongly [DOU] against all of your enemies.
\v 23 My angel will go ahead of you, and will take you to where the Amor and Heth and Periz and Canaan and Hiv and Jebus people-groups live, and I will completely get rid of them.
\v 24 Do not bow down before their gods/idols or worship them. And do not do the things  \add that they think that their gods want\add* them to do. Completely destroy their gods/idols, and smash to pieces their sacred stones.
\p
\v 25 You must worship me, Yahweh God. \add If you do that\add*, I will bless your (OR, bless  \add you by giving you\add*) food and water, and I will protect you from becoming sick.
\v 26 No women in your land will have ◄miscarriages/babies that will die after being born prematurely►, and no women will be unable to become pregnant. I will enable you to live a long time.
\p
\v 27 I will cause the people who oppose you to become very afraid of me. I will cause the people whom you fight against to become very confused. And then I will cause them to turn around and run away from you.
\v 28 I will cause your enemies to become terrified. And I will expel the Hiv, Canaan, and Heth people-groups from your land.
\v 29 I will not expel  \add all of\add* them in less than one year. If I did that, your land would become deserted, and there would be very many wild animals ◄\add that would attack you/you would not be able to control\add*►.
\v 30 I will expel those people-groups slowly, a few at a time, until the number of your people increases and you are able to live everywhere in the land.
\v 31 I will cause the borders of your land to extend from the ◄Red Sea/Gulf of Aqaba► \add in the southeast\add* to the Mediterranean Sea  \add in the northwest\add*, and from the  \add Sinai\add* Desert  \add in the southwest\add* to the  \add Euphrates\add* River  \add in the northeast of the country\add*. I will give you the power [MTY] to expel the people who live there, so that you will expel them as you occupy more of the country.
\v 32 You must not make any agreement/treaty with those people or with their gods.
\v 33 Do not allow  \add those people\add* to live in your land, in order that they do not cause you to sin against me. If you worship their gods, \add you will not be able to escape from worshiping them and sinning against me, just like someone caught\add* in a trap  \add is unable to escape\add* [MET].”
\c 24
\s1 The Israelis accepted Yahweh's agreement
\p
\v 1 Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Come up to me  \add on top of this mountain\add*, you and Aaron and  \add his sons\add* Nadab and Abihu. Also  \add take along\add* seventy of the Israeli elders/leaders. While you are still some distance  \add from the top of the mountain\add*, prostrate yourselves  \add on the ground\add* and worship me.
\v 2 Moses, \add I will allow\add* you alone to come near to me. The others must not come near, and the  \add rest of the\add* people must not come up the mountain.”
\p
\v 3 Moses/I went and told the people everything that Yahweh had said and all that he had commanded. The people all replied together, saying, “We will do everything that Yahweh has told us  \add to do\add*.”
\v 4 Then Moses/I wrote down everything that Yahweh had commanded. Early the next morning Moses/I built a  \add stone\add* altar. He/I also set up twelve stones, one for each of the Israeli tribes.
\v 5 He/I also selected some young men. They burned sacrifices to Yahweh and they also sacrificed some cattle that were not burned completely, for the purpose of maintaining fellowship with Yahweh.
\v 6 Moses/I took half of the blood of the animals that were slaughtered and put it in bowls. The other half of the blood  \add he/I\add* threw/splashed against the altar.
\v 7 Then he/I took the scroll on which he/I had written  \add everything that Yahweh had commanded in\add* the agreement that he had made, and he read it  \add aloud\add*, while all the people were listening. Then all the people said, “We will do all that Yahweh has told us to do. We will obey  \add everything\add*.”
\p
\v 8 Then Moses/I took the blood  \add that was in the bowls\add* and threw/splashed it on the people. He/I said, “This is the blood  \add that ◄confirms/puts into effect►\add* the agreement that Yahweh made with you when he gave you all these commands.”
\p
\v 9 Then Moses/I, along with Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and the seventy Israeli elders/leaders, went up  \add the mountain\add*, 
\v 10 and they saw God, the one whom the Israeli people worship. Under his feet was something like a pavement  \add made of expensive blue stones called\add* sapphires. They were as clear as the sky is  \add when there are no clouds\add*.
\v 11 God did not harm [MTY] those Israeli elders/leaders  \add because of their having seen him\add*. They saw God, and they ate and drank together! \add Then they all went down the mountain\add*.
\p
\v 12 Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Come up to me  \add again\add* on  \add top of this\add* mountain. While you are here, I will give you  \add two\add* stone slabs on which I have written all the laws [DOU] that I have given to you to instruct/teach  \add the people\add*.”
\v 13-14 So Moses/I told the elders, “Stay here  \add with the other people\add* until we return! Do not forget that Aaron and Hur will be with you. So if anyone has a dispute  \add while I am gone\add*, he can go to those two men.” Then Moses/I went with his/my servant Joshua  \add part of the way\add* up the mountain that  \add was dedicated to\add* God.
\v 15 Then Moses/I went the  \add rest of the way\add* up the mountain. A cloud covered the mountain.
\v 16 The ◄glory/brilliant light► of Yahweh came down on the mountain and covered it for six days. On the seventh day, Yahweh called to Moses/me from the middle of the cloud.
\v 17 When the Israeli people  \add looked at\add* the top of the mountain, the glory of Yahweh was like a big fire that was burning  \add there\add*.
\v 18 Moses/I went into the cloud on top of the mountain. He/I was there for forty days and nights.
\c 25
\s1 Yahweh gave Moses instructions about a big Sacred Tent for their worship
\p
\v 1 Yahweh said to Moses/me, “There  \add are many things that I want\add* you to tell to the Israeli people.
\p
\v 2 Tell them that they must give offerings/gifts to me. Receive from the people every offering/gift that they want to give to me.
\v 3 These are the things that they may offer/give: Gold, silver, bronze,
\v 4 blue, purple, and scarlet yarn/wool, fine ◄linen/white cloth►, goats' hair for making  \add cloth\add*, 
\v 5 rams' skins that have been ◄tanned/dyed red►, goatskins, \add hard\add* wood from acacia  \add trees\add*, 
\v 6 olive oil  \add to burn\add* in the lamps, spices to  \add put in\add* the olive oil for anointing  \add the priests\add* and in the sweet-smelling incense,
\v 7 \add expensive quartz\add* stones  \add called\add* onyx, and other expensive stones to be fastened  \add to the priest's vest\add* and put on the pouches  \add that are to be fastened to the vest\add*.
\v 8 Tell the people to make a big Sacred Tent for me, so that I can live in it in their midst.
\v 9 They must make the Sacred Tent and all the things that will be used inside it according to the plan/model that I will show you.”
\s1 Instructions for making the sacred chest
\p
\v 10 “\add Tell the people to\add* make a  \add sacred\add* chest from acacia wood. It is to be ◄45 in./110 cm.► long, ◄27 in./66 cm.► wide, and ◄27 in./66 cm.► high.
\v 11 Cover it with pure gold inside and outside the chest and put a gold border around the top of it.
\v 12 \add They must\add* make/cast four rings from gold and fasten them to the legs of the chest. Put two rings on each side of the chest.
\v 13 \add They must\add* make  \add two\add* poles from acacia wood, and they must cover them with gold.
\v 14 \add They must\add* put the poles into the rings on the sides of the chest, so that the chest can be carried by the poles.
\v 15 The poles must always be left in the rings; they must not take the poles out  \add of the rings\add*.
\v 16 Put inside the chest the  \add two stone slabs that I will give you, on which\add* I have written my commandments.
\p
\v 17 \add Tell them to\add* make a lid for the chest from pure gold. \add It will be the place where I will\add* cover/forgive people's sins. It  \add also\add* is to be ◄45 in./110 cm.► long and ◄27 in./66 cm.► wide.
\v 18 \add Tell them to\add* hammer  \add a large lump of\add* gold into the form of two creatures that have wings.
\v 19 One of these is to be put at each end of the chest, but the gold  \add from which\add* they  \add are made\add* must be joined to the gold from which the lid  \add is made\add*.
\v 20 \add Tell them to place the\add* winged creatures so that their wings touch each other and spread out over the lid.
\v 21 Put the stone slabs that I will give you inside the chest. Then fasten the lid onto the top of the chest.
\v 22 I will set times to talk with you there. From above the lid of the chest, between the two winged creatures, I will tell to you all my laws that  \add you must tell\add* to the Israeli people.”
\s1 Instructions for the table for the sacred bread
\p
\v 23 “\add Tell them to\add* make a table from acacia wood. It is to be ◄36 in./88 cm.► long, ◄18 in./66 cm.► wide, and ◄27 in./66 cm.► high.
\v 24 \add Tell them to\add* cover it with pure gold and put a gold border around it.
\v 25 \add Tell them to\add* make a rim all around it, ◄3 in./7.5 cm.► wide, and put a gold border around the rim.
\v 26 \add Tell them to\add* make/cast four rings from gold and fasten the rings to the four corners of the table, one ring close to each leg  \add of the table\add*.
\v 27 The rings should be fastened to the table near the rim.
\v 28 Make two poles from acacia wood and cover them with gold. The poles for carrying the table are to be inserted in the rings.
\v 29 Also  \add tell them to\add* make plates, cups, jars, and bowls to be used  \add when the priests\add* pour out wine  \add to offer to me\add*. They must all be made from pure gold.
\v 30 On the table, in front of the chest, there must always be the loaves of sacred bread  \add that the priests have offered\add* to me.”
\s1 Instructions for the lampstand
\p
\v 31 “\add Tell them to\add* make a lampstand from pure gold. They must hammer  \add one large lump of\add* gold to make its base and its shaft. \add The branches of the lampstand\add*, the cups for holding the oil, the flower buds and the  \add flower\add* petals  \add that decorate the branches of the lamp, the base, and the shaft are all to be hammered from\add* one  \add big\add* lump of gold.
\v 32 There are to be six branches on the lampstand, three on each side  \add of the shaft\add*.
\v 33 Each of the branches is to have on it three  \add gold decorations that will look like\add* almond blossoms. These decorations must also have flower buds and  \add flower\add* petals.
\v 34 On the  \add shaft of the\add* lampstand there are to be four  \add gold decorations that also look like\add* almond blossoms, each one with flower buds and petals.
\v 35 On each side, there is to be one  \add flower\add* bud beneath each of the branches.
\v 36 All these buds and branches, along with the shaft, are to be hammered from one large lump of pure gold.
\v 37 Also  \add tell them to\add* make seven small cups  \add for holding oil. One is to be put on top of the shaft and the others are to be put on top of the branches\add*. Place these cups so that  \add when the lamps are lit\add*, the light will shine toward the ◄front of the lampstand/entrance►.
\v 38 \add Tell them to\add* make tongs from pure gold, \add to remove the burned wicks\add* and trays  \add in which to put the burned wicks\add*.
\v 39 \add Tell them to\add* use ◄75 pounds/35 kg.► of pure gold to make the lampstand and the tongs and the trays.
\v 40 Make sure that they make these things according to the instructions that I am giving you  \add here\add* on  \add this\add* mountain.”
\c 26
\s1 Instructions for the coverings for the Sacred Tent
\p
\v 1 “\add Tell the people to\add* make the Sacred Tent using ten long strips of fine linen. They must take blue, purple, and red thread (OR, weave the strips from blue, purple, and red thread), and  \add a skilled craftsman\add* must embroider these strips with  \add designs that represent\add* the winged creatures  \add that are above the chest\add*.
\v 2 Each strip is to be ◄fourteen yards/twelve meters► long and ◄2 yards/1.8 meters► wide.
\v 3 \add Tell them to\add* sew five strips together to make one set, and sew the other five strips together to make another set.
\v 4 For each set, \add they must\add* make loops of blue  \add cloth\add* and fasten them along the outer edge of the strip, at the end of each set.
\v 5 \add They must\add* put fifty loops on the edge of the first set, and fifty loops on the edge of the second set.
\v 6 \add Tell them to\add* make fifty gold clasps/fasteners, to fasten both of the sets together. As a result, the inside of the Sacred Tent will be  \add as though it was\add* one piece.
\p
\v 7 Also, \add tell them to\add* make a cover for the Sacred Tent from eleven pieces of cloth made from goats' hair.
\v 8 Each piece of cloth is to be ◄15 yards/13.5 meters► long and ◄2 yards/1.8 meters► wide.
\v 9 \add Tell them to\add* sew five of these pieces of cloth together to make one set, and sew the other six pieces of cloth together to make another set. \add They\add* must fold the sixth piece  \add of cloth\add* in half to make it double over the front of the Sacred Tent.
\v 10 \add Tell them to\add* make one hundred loops  \add of blue cloth\add*, and to fasten fifty of them to the outer edge of the one set and fasten fifty to the outer edge of the other set.
\v 11 \add Tell them to\add* make fifty bronze clasps/fasteners and put them in the cloth loops to join the two sets together. As a result, the cover for the Sacred Tent will be  \add as though it was\add* one piece.
\v 12 \add Let\add* the extra part of the cover, the part that extends beyond  \add the linen cloth\add*, hang over the back of the Sacred Tent.
\v 13 The extra half yard/meter of each cover, the part that extends beyond  \add the linen cloth\add* on each side, must hang over the two sides of the Sacred Tent, to protect the sides.
\v 14 \add Tell them to\add* make two more covers for the Sacred Tent. One is to be made from rams' skins that have been ◄tanned/dyed red►, and the top cover is to be made from goatskin leather.”
\s1 Instructions for the framework for the Sacred Tent
\p
\v 15 “\add Tell them to\add* make  \add 48\add* frames from acacia wood, frames that will be set up  \add to hang the Sacred Tent covers from them\add*.
\v 16 Each frame is to be ◄five yards/four meters► long and ◄27 in./66 cm.► wide.
\v 17 \add They\add* must make two projections at the bottom of each frame. These will be to fasten the frames to the bases underneath them. They must make these projections at the bottom of each frame.
\v 18 Make twenty frames for the south side of the Sacred Tent.
\v 19 \add Tell them to\add* make forty silver bases to go underneath them. Two bases will go under each frame. The projections  \add at the bottom\add* of each frame are  \add to be made\add* to fit into the bases.
\v 20 \add Similarly\add*, \add tell them to\add* make twenty frames for the north side of the Sacred Tent.
\v 21 \add They\add* must make forty silver bases for them also, with two bases to be put under each frame.
\v 22 For the rear of the Sacred Tent, on the west side, \add tell them to\add* make six frames.
\v 23 Also, \add tell them to\add* make two extra frames, one for each corner of the rear of the Sacred Tent, \add to provide extra support\add*.
\v 24 The two corner frames must be separated at the bottom but joined at the top (OR, joined at both the bottom and the top). At the top of each of the two corner frames there must be a gold ring for holding the crossbar.
\v 25 In that way, \add for the rear of the Sacred Tent\add* there will be eight frames, and there will be sixteen bases, two under each frame.
\p
\v 26 \add Tell them to\add* make fifteen crossbars from acacia wood.
\v 27 Five of them will be for the frames on the north side of the Sacred Tent, five will be for the south side, and five for the frames at the rear of the Sacred Tent, the west side.
\v 28 Tell them to fasten the crossbars on the north, south, and west sides of the Sacred Tent to the middle of the frames. The two long ones must extend from one end of the Sacred Tent to the other, and the crossbar on the west side must extend from one side of the Sacred Tent to the other.
\v 29 \add Tell them to\add* cover the frames with gold, and make gold rings to fasten the crossbars to the frames. The crossbars must  \add also\add* be covered with gold.
\v 30 Erect the Sacred Tent in the way that I have shown you  \add here\add* on  \add this\add* mountain.”
\s1 Instructions for the Very Holy Place and the curtain
\p
\v 31 “\add Tell them to\add* make a curtain from fine linen. A skilled craftsman must embroider it with blue, purple, and red yarn/thread, making  \add designs to represent\add* the winged creatures  \add that are above the chest\add*.
\v 32 \add Tell them to\add* suspend/hang the curtain from four posts made from acacia wood and covered with gold. Set  \add each\add* post in a silver base.
\v 33 \add They\add* must suspend/hang the  \add top of the\add* curtain by hooks that are fastened to the roof of the Sacred Tent. Behind the curtain, in the  \add room called the\add* Very Holy Place, \add they\add* must put the chest containing the  \add two stone slabs on which I have written my\add* commandments. That curtain will separate the Holy Place from the Very Holy Place.
\v 34 On top of the chest in the Very Holy Place  \add they\add* must put the lid which will be the place where  \add blood will be sprinkled to\add* cover/forgive people's sins.
\v 35 \add In the room that is\add* outside of the Very Holy Place, \add they\add* must put the table  \add for the sacred\add* bread on the north side, and put the lampstand on the south side.
\v 36 \add Tell them to\add* make a curtain to  \add cover\add* the entrance of the Sacred Tent. They must make it from fine linen, and a skilled weaver must embroider it with blue, purple, and red yarn/thread.
\v 37 To hold up this curtain, \add they\add* must make five posts from acacia wood. \add They\add* must cover them with gold, and fasten gold clasps/fasteners to them. Also  \add they\add* must make a bronze base for each of these posts.”
\c 27
\s1 Instructions for the altar
\p
\v 1 “Tell them to make an altar from acacia wood. It is to be square, ◄7-1/2 feet/2.2 meters► on each side, and make it ◄4-1/2 feet/1.3 meters► high.
\v 2 \add They\add* must make  \add a projection that looks like\add* a horn on each of the top corners. The projections must be carved from the same block of wood as the altar. \add Tell them to\add* cover the whole altar with gold.
\v 3 \add They must\add* make pans in which to put the  \add greasy\add* ashes  \add from the animal sacrifices\add*. Also  \add they must\add* make shovels for cleaning out the ashes, basins and forks for turning the meat as it cooks, and buckets for carrying hot coals/ashes. All of these things must be made from bronze.
\v 4 Also  \add tell them to\add* make a bronze grating to hold the wood and burning coals. They must fasten to each of the corners of the altar a bronze ring for carrying the altar.
\v 5 \add They must\add* put the grating under the rim that is around the altar. \add They must\add* make it so that it is  \add inside the altar\add*, halfway down.
\v 6 For  \add carrying\add* the altar, \add they must\add* make poles from acacia wood and cover them with bronze.
\v 7 \add They must\add* put the poles through the rings on each side of the altar. The poles are for carrying the altar.
\v 8 The altar will be like a box, made from boards  \add of acacia wood\add*. \add They must\add* make it according to these instructions that I am giving you  \add here\add* on  \add this\add* mountain.”
\s1 Instructions for the courtyard
\p
\v 9 “Around the Sacred Tent there is to be a courtyard. To form the courtyard, \add tell them to\add* make curtains of fine linen. On the south side, the curtain is to be ◄50 yards/44 meters► long.
\v 10 \add To support/hang the curtain\add*, \add tell them to\add* make twenty bronze posts, and one bronze base for each post. To fasten the curtains to the posts, \add they must\add* make silver hooks, and  \add metal rods covered with\add* silver  \add to fasten the curtains to the hooks\add*.
\v 11 \add They must\add* make the same kind of curtains for the north side of the courtyard.
\v 12 On the west side  \add of the courtyard\add* they must make a curtain ◄25 yards/22 meters► long. The curtains are to be supported by ten posts, with a base under  \add each\add* post.
\v 13 On the east side, \add where the entrance is\add*, the courtyard must also be ◄25 yards/22 meters► wide.
\v 14-15 \add Tell them to\add* make a curtain ◄22-1/2 feet/6.6 meters► wide for each side of the entrance  \add to the courtyard\add*.
\v 16 They must make a curtain ◄30 feet/9 meters► long for the entrance. A skilled weaver must embroider it with blue, purple, and red yarn/thread. It must be ◄supported by/hung from► four posts, each one with a base under it.
\v 17 All the posts around the courtyard must be connected with metal rods covered with silver. The clasps/fasteners must be made of silver, and the bases must be made of bronze.
\v 18 The whole courtyard, \add from the east entrance to the west end\add*, must be ◄50 yards/44 meters► long, and the curtains that enclose it must be ◄7-1/2 feet/2.2 meters► high. All the curtains must be made of fine linen, and all the bases  \add under the posts\add* must be made of bronze.
\v 19 All the things that are not made of gold that are to be used inside the Sacred Tent and in the courtyard, and all the tent pegs to support the Sacred Tent and the curtains, must be made of bronze.
\p
\v 20 Command the Israeli people that they must bring to you the best kind of olive oil to  \add burn in\add* the lamps. They must bring this oil to you continually, in order that the lamps can burn continually.
\v 21 They must put the lampstand outside of the curtain which is in front of the  \add sacred chest which contains the stone slabs on which I have written\add* my commandments. Aaron must take care of the lamps. \add After he dies\add*, his descendants must do this work. The lamps are to burn every night, from evening until morning. The Israeli people must obey this regulation throughout all future generations.”
\c 28
\s1 Instructions for the priests' clothing
\p
\v 1 “Summon your  \add older\add* brother Aaron and his sons—Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. ◄\add Set them apart/They are the ones whom I have chosen\add*► from the  \add rest of\add* the Israeli people, in order that they can serve me  \add by being\add* priests.
\v 2 \add Tell the people to\add* make beautiful clothes for Aaron, clothes that are  \add suitable for one who\add* has this dignified and sacred  \add work\add*.
\v 3 Talk to all the skilled workmen, those to whom I have given special ability. \add Tell them to\add* make clothes for Aaron, for him to wear when he is ◄set apart/dedicated► \add to become\add* a priest to serve me.
\v 4 These are the clothes that they are to make: A sacred pouch for Aaron to wear over his breast, a sacred apron, a robe, an embroidered tunic/gown, a ◄turban/cloth to wrap around his head►, and a sash/waistband. These are the clothes that your  \add older\add* brother Aaron and his sons must wear as they serve me  \add by doing the work that\add* priests do.
\v 5 The skilled workmen must use fine linen and blue, purple, and red yarn/thread to make these clothes.”
\s1 Instructions for the sacred apron
\p
\v 6 “The skilled workmen must make the sacred apron from fine linen, and skillfully embroider it with blue, purple, and red yarn/thread.
\v 7 It must have two shoulder straps, to join the front part to the back part.
\v 8 A carefully-woven sash, which must be made from the same materials as the sacred apron, must be  \add sewn\add* onto the sacred apron.
\v 9 \add A skilled workman\add* must take two  \add expensive\add* onyx stones and engrave on them the names of the twelve sons of Jacob.
\v 10 He must engrave the names in the order in which Jacob's sons were born. He must engrave six names on one stone, and the other six names on the other stone.
\v 11 A gem-cutter should engrave these names on the stones. Then he should enclose the stones in ◄settings/tiny gold frames►.
\v 12 Then he should fasten the stones onto the shoulder straps  \add of the sacred apron\add*, to represent the twelve Israeli tribes. In that way, Aaron will carry the names of the tribes on his shoulders in order that  \add I\add*, Yahweh, will never forget  \add my people\add* (OR, in order that  \add he will always\add* remember that  \add those tribes belong to\add* Yahweh).
\v 13 The settings for the stones must be made from gold.
\v 14 \add Tell them to\add* make two tiny chains that are braided like cords, and fasten the chains to the settings.”
\s1 Instructions for the sacred pouch
\p
\v 15 “\add Tell the skilled workman to\add* make a sacred pouch for Aaron to wear over his chest/breast. \add He will use the things he puts into the pouch\add* to determine  \add my answers to the questions he asks\add*. It must be made of the same materials as the sacred apron, and embroidered in the same way.
\v 16 It is to be square, and the material must be folded double, so that it is ◄9 in./22 cm.► on each side.
\v 17 \add The skilled workman must\add* fasten four rows of valuable stones onto the pouch. In the first row, he must put a  \add red\add* ruby, a  \add yellow\add* topaz, and a  \add red\add* garnet.
\v 18 In the second row, he must put a  \add green\add* emerald, a  \add blue\add* sapphire, and a  \add clear/white\add* diamond.
\v 19 In the third row he must put a  \add red\add* jacinth, a  \add white\add* agate, and a  \add purple\add* amethyst.
\v 20 In the fourth row, he must put a  \add yellow\add* beryl, a  \add red\add* carnelian, and a  \add green\add* jasper.
\v 21 A gem-cutter should engrave on each of these twelve stones the name of one of the sons of Jacob. These names will represent the twelve Israeli tribes.
\v 22 The two  \add chains\add* that are made from pure gold and braided like cords are for  \add attaching\add* the sacred pouch  \add to the sacred apron\add*.
\v 23 \add The workman must\add* make two gold rings, and attach them to the upper corners of the sacred pouch.
\v 24 \add He must make\add* two gold cords, and fasten one end of each cord to one of the rings.
\v 25 He must fasten the other end of each cord to the two settings  \add that enclose the stones\add*. In that way, the sacred pouch will be attached to the shoulder straps of the sacred apron.
\v 26 Then  \add he must\add* make two more gold rings, and attach them to the lower corners of the sacred pouch, on the inside edges, next to the sacred apron.
\v 27 \add He must\add* make two more gold rings, and attach them to the lower part of the front of the shoulder straps, near to where  \add the shoulder straps\add* are joined  \add to the sacred apron\add*, just above the carefully-woven sash/waistband.
\v 28 The skilled workman must tie the rings on the sacred pouch to the rings on the sacred apron with a blue cord, so that the sacred pouch is above the sash/waistband and does not come loose from the sacred apron.
\v 29 In that way, Aaron will have the names of the twelve Israeli tribes in the sacred pouch close to his chest/breast when he enters the Holy Place. This will remind him that I, Yahweh, \add will never forget my people\add* (OR, \add that he represents my people when he talks to me, Yahweh\add*).
\v 30 Put into the sacred pouch the two things that the priest will use to determine my answers to the questions he asks. In that way, they will be close to his chest/breast when he enters  \add the Holy place to talk\add* to me. He will use them to find out what is my will for the Israeli people.”
\s1 Instructions for other clothes for the priests
\p
\v 31 “\add Tell the workmen to\add* use only blue  \add cloth\add* to make the robe that is to be worn underneath the priest's sacred apron.
\v 32 It is to have an opening through which  \add the priest\add* can put his head. They must sew a border around this opening, to keep the material from tearing.
\v 33 At the lower edge on the robe, they must fasten  \add decorations that look like\add* pomegranate fruit. They must be  \add woven from\add* blue, purple, and red yarn/thread.
\v 34 Between each of these decorations, they must fasten a tiny gold bell.
\v 35 When Aaron enters the Holy Place  \add in the Sacred Tent\add* to do his work as a priest and when he leaves the Sacred Tent, the bells will ring  \add as he walks\add*. As a result, he will not die  \add because of disobeying my instructions\add*.
\p
\v 36 \add Tell them to\add* make a tiny ornament of pure gold, and tell a ◄skilled workman/gem-cutter► to engrave on it the words, ‘Dedicated to Yahweh.’
\v 37 They should fasten this ornament to the front of the turban by a blue cord.
\v 38 Aaron must always wear this on his forehead. In that way, Aaron himself will show  \add that he accepts\add* the guilt if the Israeli people offer  \add their sacrifices\add* to me in a way that is not correct, and I, Yahweh, will accept their sacrifices.
\p
\v 39 \add Tell them to\add* weave the long-sleeved tunic/gown from fine linen. Also they must make from fine linen a turban and a sash/waistband, and embroider  \add designs on it\add*.
\p
\v 40 \add Tell them to\add* make beautiful long-sleeved tunics/gowns, sashes, and caps for Aaron's sons. Make ones that will be suitable for those who have this dignified work.
\v 41 Put these clothes on your  \add older\add* brother Aaron and on his sons. Then ◄set them apart/dedicate them► for this work by anointing them  \add with olive oil\add*, in order that they may serve me  \add by being\add* priests.
\v 42 Also  \add tell them to\add* make linen undershorts for them. The undershorts should extend from their waists to their thighs, in order that no one can see their private parts.
\v 43 Aaron and his sons must always wear those undershorts when they enter the Sacred Tent or when they come near to the altar to offer sacrifices in the Holy Place. If they do not obey this ritual, I will cause them to die. Aaron and all his male descendants must obey this rule forever.”
\c 29
\s1 Instructions for dedicating the priests
\p
\v 1 “This is what you must do to dedicate Aaron and his sons to serve me  \add by being\add* priests: Select one young bull and two rams that do not have any defects.
\v 2 Bake three  \add kinds of bread\add* using finely-ground wheat flour, but without yeast: Bake some loaves that do not have any olive oil in them, bake some loaves that have olive oil in the dough, and bake some thin wafers that will be smeared with olive oil  \add after they are baked\add*.
\v 3 Put them in a basket and offer them  \add to me\add* when you sacrifice the young bull and the two rams.
\v 4 Take Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the Sacred Tent, and wash them  \add ritually\add*.
\v 5 Then put the special clothes on Aaron—the long-sleeved tunic/gown, the robe that will be worn underneath the sacred apron, the sacred apron, the sacred pouch, and the sash/waistband.
\v 6 Put the turban on his head, and fasten to the turban the ornament that has the words ❛Dedicated to Yahweh❜ engraved on it.
\v 7 Then take the oil and pour some on his head to ◄dedicate him/set him apart►.
\v 8 Then bring his sons and put the long-sleeved tunics/gowns on them.
\v 9 Put the sashes/waistbands around their waists and the caps on their heads. That is the ritual by which you are to ◄dedicate them/set them apart► to be priests. Aaron and his male descendants must serve me  \add by being\add* priests forever.
\p
\v 10 Then bring the young bull to the entrance of the Sacred Tent. Tell Aaron and his sons to put their hands on the head of the young bull.
\v 11 Then, while they do that, kill the young bull  \add by slitting its throat, and catch/drain the blood in a bowl\add*.
\v 12 Take some of that blood with your finger and smear it on the projections of the altar. Throw/Splash the rest of the blood against the base of the altar.
\v 13 Take all the fat that covers the inner organs of the young bull, the best part of the liver, and the two kidneys with the fat on them, and burn all these on the altar  \add as an offering to me\add*.
\v 14 But the meat of the young bull and its hide and intestines must be burned outside the camp. That will be an offering to ◄cover/forgive the guilt of► your sins.
\p
\v 15 Then select one of the rams, and tell Aaron and his sons to put their hands on the head of the ram.
\v 16 Then kill the ram  \add by slitting its throat. Catch/Drain some of the blood and\add* splash it against all four sides of the altar.
\v 17 Then cut the ram into pieces. Wash its inner organs and its rear legs and put those with the head
\v 18 and burn them  \add completely\add* on the altar with the rest of the ram. That will be an offering to me, Yahweh, and the smell will please me.
\p
\v 19 Take the other ram  \add that was selected for these rituals\add*, and tell Aaron and his sons to put their hands on the ram's head.
\v 20 Then kill the ram by slitting its throat, and drain the blood  \add in a bowl\add*. Smear some of the blood on the lobe of the right ears of Aaron and his sons, and on the thumbs of their right hands, and on the big toes of their right feet. Throw/Splash the rest of the blood against the four sides of the altar.
\v 21 Wipe up some of the blood that is on the altar, mix it with some of the oil for anointing, and sprinkle it on Aaron and his clothes, and on his sons and their clothes. By doing that, you will dedicate them and their clothes  \add to me\add*.
\p
\v 22 Also, cut off the ram's fat and its fat tail and the fat that covers the inner organs, the best part of the liver, the two kidneys with the fat on them, and the right thigh.
\v 23 Take also one of each of the kinds of bread  \add that was baked \add*—one made with no oil, one with oil, and one thin wafer.
\v 24 Put all these things in the hands of Aaron and his sons. \add Then tell them to\add* lift them up  \add high\add* to dedicate them to me.
\v 25 Then take them from their hands and burn them on the altar, on top of the other things  \add that were placed there\add*. That  \add also\add* will be an offering to me, and its smell will please me.
\v 26 Then take the breast of the second ram that was killed, and lift it up  \add high\add* for an offering to me. But then this part of the animal will be for you  \add to eat\add*.
\v 27 Then take the breast, the other thigh of the first ram that was sacrificed to ◄dedicate/set apart► the priests, and the ram whose other parts were lifted high to show that they were an offering to me; and set the breast and thigh apart for Aaron and his sons, for them to eat.
\v 28 In the future, whenever the Israeli people present to me, Yahweh, offerings to maintain fellowship with me, the breast and the thigh  \add of animals that they sacrifice\add* will be for Aaron and his male descendants  \add to eat\add*.
\p
\v 29 After Aaron  \add dies\add*, the special clothes that he wore will belong to his sons. They are to wear those clothes when they are ◄set apart/dedicated► \add to become priests\add*.
\v 30 Aaron's son who becomes The Supreme Priest and enters the Sacred Tent and performs rituals in the Holy Place must  \add stay in the Sacred Tent\add*, wearing these special clothes, for seven days.
\p
\v 31 Take the meat of the other ram that was sacrificed to ◄set apart/dedicate► Aaron and his sons, and boil it in the courtyard.
\v 32 After it is cooked, Aaron and his sons must eat it, along with the bread that is left in the basket, at the entrance of the Sacred Tent.
\v 33 They must eat the meat of the ram that was sacrificed to forgive them for  \add their sins\add* when they were dedicated to do this work. They are the only ones who are permitted to eat this meat. \add Those who are not priests are not allowed to eat it\add*, because it is dedicated to me.
\v 34 If any of this meat or some of the bread is not eaten that night, no one is permitted to eat any of it the next day. It must be completely burned, because it is sacred/dedicated to me.
\p
\v 35 Those are the rituals that you(sg) must obey during those seven days when you dedicate Aaron and his sons for this work. You must do all that I have commanded you.
\v 36 Each of those seven days you must also sacrifice a young bull for an offering to me, in order that I may forgive sins. Also, you must make another offering ◄to make the altar pure in my sight/in order that I will consider the altar to be pure►. You must also anoint the altar with olive oil, to ◄set it apart/dedicate it►.
\v 37 Perform these rituals every day for seven days, to ◄set apart/dedicate► the altar and make it pure. If you do not do that, anyone or anything that touches the altar will become taboo.
\p
\v 38 You must also sacrifice lambs and burn them on the altar. Each of those  \add seven\add* days you must sacrifice two lambs.
\v 39 One lamb must be sacrificed in the morning, and one must be sacrificed in the evening.
\v 40 With the first lamb, also offer ◄2 pounds/1 kilogram► of finely-ground wheat flour mixed with one quart/liter of the best kind of olive oil, and one quart/liter of wine as an offering.
\v 41 In the evening, when you sacrifice the other lamb, offer the same amounts of flour, olive oil, and wine as you did in the morning. This will be an offering to me, Yahweh, that will be burned, and its smell will please me.
\v 42 You  \add and your descendants\add* must continue making these offerings to me, Yahweh, throughout all future generations. You must offer them at the entrance of the Sacred Tent. That is where I will meet with you and speak to you.
\v 43 That is where I will meet with the Israeli people, and the brilliant light of my presence will cause that place to be holy/sacred.
\v 44 I will dedicate the Sacred Tent and the altar. I will also dedicate Aaron and his sons to serve me  \add by being\add* priests.
\v 45 I will live among the Israeli people, and I will be their God.
\v 46 They will know that I, Yahweh your God, am the one who brought them out of Egypt in order that I might live among them.”
\c 30
\s1 Instructions for the incense altar
\p
\v 1 “\add Tell the skilled workers to\add* make an altar from acacia wood, for burning incense.
\v 2 It is to be square, ◄18 in./45 cm.► on each side. It is to be ◄3 feet/90 cm.► high. \add Tell them to\add* make  \add a projection that looks like\add* a horn on each of the top corners. The projections must be carved from the same block of wood that the altar  \add is made from\add*.
\v 3 \add They must\add* cover the top and the four sides, including the projections, with pure gold. Put a gold border around the altar, \add near the top\add*.
\v 4 \add They must\add* make two gold rings for carrying the altar. \add They must\add* attach them to the altar below the border, one on each side of the altar. These rings are for the poles for carrying the altar.
\v 5 \add Tell them to\add* make these  \add two\add* poles from acacia wood and cover them with gold.
\v 6 \add They must\add* put this altar outside the curtain that hangs in front of the sacred chest and its lid. That is the place where I will talk with you.
\v 7 Aaron must burn sweet-smelling incense on this altar. He must burn some every morning when he takes care of the lamps,
\v 8 and he must burn some in the evening when he lights the lamps. The incense must be burned continually, throughout all future generations.
\v 9 The priests must not burn on the altar any incense that I have not told you to burn, or burn any animal on it, or any grain offering for me, or pour any wine on it as an offering.
\v 10 One time every year Aaron must perform the ritual for making this altar pure. He must do it by putting on its four projections some of the blood from the animal that was sacrificed ◄to remove the guilt of the people's sins/so that the people would no longer be guilty for sins►. This ritual is to be done by Aaron and his descendants throughout all future generations. This altar must be completely dedicated to me, Yahweh.”
\s1 Instructions for the money to take care of the Sacred Tent
\p
\v 11 Yahweh also said to Moses/me,
\v 12 “When your  \add leaders\add* ◄take a census of/count► the Israeli people, each man  \add who is counted\add* must pay to me a price to save his life. They must do this in order that no disaster will happen to them  \add while the people are being counted\add*.
\v 13 Every man who is counted must pay to me ◄0.2 ounces/5.7 grams► of silver. They must use the official standard when they weigh the silver.
\v 14 All the men who are at least twenty years old must pay this amount to me when the people are counted.
\v 15 Rich men must not pay more than this amount, and poor men must not pay less than this amount, when they pay this money to save their lives.
\v 16 Your leaders must collect this money from the Israeli people and give it  \add to those who will\add* take care of the Sacred Tent. This money is the payment for their lives, ◄to enable me not to forget them/and then I will remember to protect them►.”
\s1 Instructions for the washbasin
\p
\v 17 Yahweh  \add also\add* said to Moses/me,
\v 18 “Tell  \add the skilled workers\add* to make a bronze washbasin and a bronze base for it. \add They must\add* put it between the Sacred Tent and the altar, and fill it with water.
\v 19 Aaron and his sons must ritually wash their hands and their feet with this water
\v 20 before they enter the Sacred Tent and before they come to the altar to sacrifice offerings that will be burned on it. If  \add they do that\add*, they will not die  \add because of disobeying my instructions\add*.
\v 21 They must wash their hands and their feet, in order that they will not die. They and the males descended from them must obey this ritual throughout all generations.”
\s1 Instructions for the oil for anointing
\p
\v 22 Yahweh also said to Moses/me,
\v 23 “\add Tell the people to\add* collect some of the finest spices— ◄12 pounds/6 kg.► of ◄liquid myrrh/sweet-smelling sap named myrrh►, ◄6 pounds/3 kg.► of sweet-smelling cinnamon, ◄6 pounds/3 kg.► of a sweet-smelling cane/reed,
\v 24 and ◄12 pounds/6 kg.► of ◄cassia/a sweet-smelling bark named cassia►. \add Be sure\add* that they use the official standard when they weigh these things. Tell an expert perfumer to mix these with ◄one gallon/four liters► of olive oil
\v 25 to make sacred oil for anointing.
\v 26 Use this oil for anointing the Sacred Tent, the sacred chest,
\v 27 the table and all the things that are used with it, the lampstand and all the things that are used to take care of it, the altar for  \add burning\add* incense,
\v 28 and the altar for offering sacrifices that will be burned, along with its bases and all the things that are used with it.
\v 29 Dedicate them by anointing them, in order that they will be completely holy/sacred. Anyone or anything  \add that\add* touches the altar  \add that is not allowed to do\add* so will become taboo.
\v 30 And anoint Aaron and his sons. \add By doing that\add*, you will dedicate them to serve me  \add by being\add* priests.
\v 31 And tell the Israeli people, ‘This oil will be my sacred oil that must be used throughout all future generations.
\v 32 You must not pour it on the bodies of people who are not priests, and you must not make other oil to be like it by mixing those same things. This oil is sacred, and you must consider it to be sacred.’
\v 33 I will consider that anyone who makes ointment like this  \add for any other purpose\add*, and anyone who puts any of this ointment on someone who is not a priest, no longer belongs to my people.”
\p
\v 34 Yahweh also said to Moses/me, “\add Tell the people to\add* take equal parts of several sweet spices—stacte, onycha, galbanum, and pure frankincense—
\v 35 and tell an expert perfumer to mix them together to make some perfume. Add some salt to keep it pure and make it holy.
\v 36 Beat some of it into a fine powder. Then take some of it into the Sacred Tent and sprinkle it in front of the sacred chest. You must  \add all\add* consider this incense to be very holy.
\v 37 The people must not mix the same spices to make incense for themselves. This incense must be completely dedicated to me, Yahweh.
\v 38 I will consider that anyone who makes incense like this to use it for perfume will no longer be allowed to associate with my people.”
\c 31
\s1 Instructions for the work for Bezalel and Oholiab
\p
\v 1-2 Yahweh  \add also\add* said to Moses/me, “Note that I have chosen Bezalel, the son of Uri and grandson of Hur, from the tribe of Judah.
\v 3 I have caused him to be completely controlled/empowered by my Spirit, and I have given him special ability  \add to make things\add* and have enabled him to know how to do very skilled work.
\v 4 He can engrave skillful designs in gold, silver, and bronze.
\v 5 He can cut ◄jewels/valuable stones► and enclose them  \add in tiny gold settings/frames\add*. He can carve things from wood and do other skilled work.
\v 6 Note that I have also appointed Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, from the tribe of Dan, to work with him. I have also given special ability to other men, in order that they can make all the things that I have commanded you  \add to be made\add*.
\v 7 That includes the Sacred Tent, the sacred chest and its lid, all the other things that will be inside the Sacred Tent,
\v 8 the table and all the things that are used with it, the pure gold lampstand and all the things that are used to take care of it, the altar  \add for burning\add* incense,
\v 9 the altar for offering sacrifices that will be burned and all the things that will be used with it, the washbasin and its base,
\v 10 all the beautiful sacred clothes for Aaron and his sons to wear when they work as priests,
\v 11 the oil for anointing, and the sweet-smelling incense for the Holy Place. \add The skilled workers\add* must make all these things exactly as I have told you that they should do.”
\s1 Instructions for the day of rest
\p
\v 12 Yahweh also said to Moses/me,
\v 13 “Tell the Israeli people, ‘Obey my instructions regarding the ◄rest days/Sabbath days►. Those days will remind you and me  \add and your descendants\add*, throughout all future generations, that I, Yahweh, have ◄set you apart/chosen you► to be my people.
\v 14 You must obey  \add my rules about\add* the Sabbath days because they are holy/sacred. Those who treat those days in an irreverent way by working on those days must be executed  \add to show that\add* I no longer consider them to belong to my people.
\v 15 You may work for six days  \add each week\add*, but the seventh day  \add of each week\add* is a solemn rest day, dedicated to me, Yahweh. Anyone who does any work on a day of rest is to be executed  \add because I no longer want them to be able to associate with my people\add*.
\v 16 You Israeli people must respect the rest day, and you  \add and your descendants\add* must ◄celebrate it/keep it holy► throughout all future generations. \add It will remind you\add* of the agreement that I have made with you that will last forever.
\v 17 It will remind you Israeli people and remind me  \add of that agreement because\add* I, Yahweh, created the heavens and the earth in six days, and on the seventh day I stopped doing that work and relaxed.’”
\p
\v 18 When Yahweh finished talking with Moses/me on the top of Sinai Mountain, he gave him/me the two stone slabs on which he had engraved his commandments with his own fingers.
\c 32
\s1 The Israelis made a golden calf to worship
\p
\v 1 ◄Moses/I► stayed on top of the mountain a long time. When the people realized that he/I was not returning quickly, they gathered near Aaron and said to him, “We do not know what has happened to that man Moses who brought us here out of Egypt. So quickly, make us ◄\add an idol/a statue of a god\add*► who will lead us!”
\v 2 Aaron replied to them, “All right, \add I will do that, but\add* tell your wives and your sons and your daughters to take off all their gold earrings and bring them to me.”
\v 3 So the people did that. They took off all their gold earrings and brought them to Aaron.
\v 4 He took all those gold earrings and melted them in a fire. He \add poured the gold into a mold and\add* made a statue that looked like a young bull. The people saw it and said, “This is the god of us Israeli people! This is the one who brought us up from the land of Egypt!”
\p
\v 5 When Aaron saw \add what was happening\add*, he built an altar in front of the \add statue of the\add* young bull. Then he announced, “Tomorrow we will have a festival to honor Yahweh!”
\v 6 So the people got up early the next morning and brought animals to kill and burn as sacrifices on the altar. They also brought sacrifices to maintain fellowship with Yahweh. Then they sat down to eat and drink \add wine\add*. Then they got up and started dancing in a very immoral way.
\s1 Yahweh threatened to destroy the Israeli people
\p
\v 7 Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Go down from the mountain, because your people, the ones that you brought up here from Egypt, have \add already\add* ◄become very depraved/wicked►!
\v 8 They have already ◄left the road that I showed them/stopped obeying me►! They have made \add a statue of\add* a young bull from melted gold. They have worshiped it and offered sacrifices to it. And they are saying, ‘This is the god of us Israeli people! This is the one who brought us up from Egypt!’”
\p
\v 9 Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “I have seen that these people are very stubborn.
\v 10 I am very angry with them, and so I am going to get rid of them. Do not try to stop me! Then I will cause you and your descendants to become a great nation.”
\p
\v 11 But Moses/I pleaded with his/my God, Yahweh, and said, “Yahweh, ◄you should not be very angry with your people!/why are you so angry with your people[RHQ]?► These are the people whom you rescued from Egypt with very great power [MTY, DOU]!
\v 12 Do not \add do anything that would\add* allow the people of Egypt to say, ‘Their god led them out from our country, but \add he did that\add* only \add because he wanted\add* to kill them in the mountains and get rid of them completely[RHQ]!’ Stop being so angry! ◄Change your mind/Do not do what you have told me that you will do►! Do not do to your people this terrible thing \add that you have just said that you will do\add*
\v 13 Think about your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. You solemnly promised to them, saying, ‘I will enable you to have as many descendants as the stars that are in the sky.’ You said to them, ‘I will give to your descendants all the land that I am promising to give them. It will be their land forever.’”
\p
\v 14 So Yahweh changed his mind. He did not do to his people the terrible thing that he said he would do.
\p
\v 15 Moses/I turned away from God and went down the mountain, carrying in his hands the two stone slabs on which Yahweh had engraved his commandments. He had written on both sides of the slabs.
\v 16 God \add himself\add* had made the slabs, and he was the one who had engraved the commandments on them.
\p
\v 17 Joshua heard the very loud noise of the people shouting. So when Moses/I got near the camp, Joshua met him/me and said, “There is a noise in the camp that sounds like \add the noise of\add* a battle!”
\v 18 But Moses/I replied, \add “No\add*, that is not the shouting that people do when they have won a victory or when they have been defeated \add in a battle\add* What I hear is the sound of \add loud\add* singing!”
\p
\v 19 As soon as Moses/I came close to the camp and saw the statue of the young bull and saw the people dancing, he/I became extremely angry. He/I threw the stone tablets that he/I was carrying down onto the ground, there at the base of the mountain.
\v 20 Then he/I took the statue of the young bull that they had made and melted it in the fire. \add When it cooled\add*, he/I ground it into \add fine\add* powder. Then he/I mixed the powder with water and forced the Israeli people to drink it.
\v 21 Then he/I said to Aaron, “What did these people do to you, with the result that you have made them commit such a terrible sin?”
\v 22 Aaron replied, “Please do not be angry with me, sir. You know that these people are very determined to do evil things.
\v 23 They said to me, ‘As for that man Moses, the one who brought us up here from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has happened to him. So make for us an idol that will lead us!’
\v 24 So I said to them, ‘Everyone who is wearing \add gold earrings\add* should take them off.’ So they \add took them off and\add* gave them to me. I threw them into the fire, and out came this statue of a young bull!”
\p
\v 25 Moses/I saw that Aaron had allowed the people to become completely out of control and to do things that would make their enemies think the Israeli people were foolish.
\v 26 So he/I stood at the entrance to the camp and shouted, “Everyone who is loyal to Yahweh should come \add closer\add* to me!” So all the descendants of Levi gathered around him/me.
\v 27 Then he/I said to them, “Yahweh, the God of us Israeli people, commands that every one of you should fasten your sword to your side, and then go through the camp from this entrance to the other one, and kill some of your relatives and your companions and your neighbors.”
\v 28 The descendants of Levi did what Moses/I told them to do, and they killed three thousand men on that day.
\v 29 Moses/I said to the descendants of Levi, “Today you have dedicated yourselves to serving Yahweh by ◄killing/not sparing► \add even\add* your own sons and brothers, and as a result Yahweh will bless you.”
\p
\v 30 The next day, Moses/I said to the people, “You have committed a terrible sin. But I will now climb up the mountain again to talk with Yahweh. Perhaps I can \add persuade him\add* to forgive you for sinning \add like this\add*.”
\v 31 So Moses/I went up the mountain and said to Yahweh, “I am sorry to admit that these people have committed a terrible sin. They have made for themselves a gold idol and have worshiped it.
\v 32 But now I ask you to please forgive them for having sinned. If you will not forgive them, then erase my name from the book in which you have written \add the names of your people\add*.”
\v 33 But Yahweh said to Moses/me, “It is \add only\add* those who have sinned against me whose names I will erase from that book.
\v 34 Now you go back down and lead the \add Israeli\add* people to the place that I told you about. Keep in mind that my angel will go in front of you. But, at the time that I determine, I will punish them for their sin.”
\p
\v 35 \add Later\add* Yahweh caused a plague to strike the people because they had told Aaron to make the gold \add statue of a\add* young bull.
\c 33
\s1 Yahweh further rebuked and warned the Israeli people
\p
\v 1 Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Leave this place and go with the people whom you led out of Egypt. Go to the land that I promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that I would give to their descendants.
\v 2 I will send my angel ahead of you, and I will expel  \add from that land\add* the Canaan, Amor, Heth, Periz, Hiv, and Jebus people-groups.
\v 3 You will go to a land that will be very good for raising livestock and growing crops [IDI]. But I will not go with you myself, because  \add if I did that\add*, I might get rid of you while you are traveling, because you are very stubborn [IDI] people.”
\p
\v 4-5 Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Tell the Israeli people, ‘You are very stubborn [IDI]. If I would go with you for even a moment, I would completely ◄get rid of you/wipe you out►. Now take off your jewelry  \add to show that you are sorry for having sinned\add*. Then I will decide how I will punish you (OR, if I should punish you).’” So when Moses/I told to the people what God said, they started to mourn, and they all took off their jewelry.
\v 6 After the Israeli people left Sinai Mountain, they did not wear jewelry anymore.
\p
\v 7 \add When the Israeli people traveled\add*, whenever they stopped and set up their tents, Moses/I set up the Sacred Tent outside the camp, far from the camp. He called it ❛the Sacred Tent where God and I talk together❜. Everyone who wanted Yahweh to decide something for them would go out of the camp to the Sacred Tent.
\v 8 Whenever Moses/I went out to the Sacred Tent, all the people would stand at the entrances of their tents and watch him/me until he/I had entered the Sacred Tent.
\v 9 When Moses/I entered the Sacred Tent, the tall cloud that looked like a fire would come down and stay at the entrance of the Sacred Tent, and then Yahweh would talk with Moses/me.
\v 10 When the people saw the tall cloud at the entrance of the Sacred Tent, they would all prostrate themselves on the ground and worship Yahweh.
\v 11 Yahweh would speak to Moses/me directly, like someone speaks to his friend. Then Moses/I would return to the camp. But his/my young helper, Joshua, the son of Nun, stayed in the Sacred Tent.
\s1 Yahweh promised to be with his people and to let Moses see his glory
\p
\v 12 Moses/I said to Yahweh, “It is true that you have told me, ‘Lead the people to the land  \add that I will show you\add*,’ and you have said that you know me well and that you are pleased with me, but you have not told me whom you will send with me!
\v 13 So now, if you are truly pleased with me, I ask you, tell me the things that you intend/plan to do, in order that I will know you  \add better\add* and continue to please you. Also, do not forget that the  \add Israeli\add* people are the people whom you chose to belong to you.”
\v 14 Yahweh replied, “I will go with you, and I will give you inner peace.”
\v 15 Moses/I replied, “If you do not go with me, do not force us to leave this place.
\v 16 The only way that  \add other\add* people will know that you are pleased with me and with your people is if you go with us [RHQ]! ◄If you go with us, \add that will show that\add* we are different from all the other people on the earth./If you do not go with us, what will show that we are different from all the other people on the earth?►” [RHQ]
\v 17 Yahweh replied to Moses/me, “What you have asked is exactly what I will do, because I know you well and I am pleased with you.”
\p
\v 18 Then Moses/I said, “Please let me see your glorious presence!”
\v 19 Yahweh replied, “I will let you see how great and glorious I am, and I will tell you clearly that my name is Yahweh. I will act very kindly and be merciful to all those whom I choose.
\v 20 But you cannot see my face, because anyone who sees my face will ◄die/not continue to stay alive►.
\v 21 But look! Here is a place close to me where you can stand on a  \add large\add* rock.
\v 22 When my glorious presence comes past you, I will put you in a large crevice/opening in the rock, and I will cover your face with my hand until I have passed by.
\v 23 Then I will take my hand away, and you will see my back, but you will not see my face.”
\c 34
\s1 Yahweh gave Moses another copy of his commandments
\p
\v 1 Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Cut two slabs of stone that will be like the first slabs, the ones that you broke. Then I will engrave on them the words that were on the first slabs.
\v 2 Get ready tomorrow morning, and come up to the top of Sinai Mountain again to talk with me there.
\v 3 Do not allow anyone to come up with you. I do not want anyone  \add else\add* to be anywhere on the mountain. Do not allow any sheep or cattle to graze ◄at the base of/near► the mountain.”
\v 4 So Moses/I cut two slabs of stone that were like the first ones. He/I arose early the next morning. He/I took the slabs and carried them in his/my hands up to the top of Sinai Mountain, as Yahweh had commanded.
\v 5 Then Yahweh descended in the  \add tall\add* cloud and stood with Moses/me there. He proclaimed that it was he, Yahweh, \add who was going to speak to Moses/me\add*.
\v 6 Then Yahweh passed in front of him/me and proclaimed, “I am Yahweh God. I always act mercifully and kindly  \add toward people\add*. I do not get angry quickly. I  \add truly\add* love  \add people\add* and I do what I promise to do for them, without changing.
\v 7 I love people for thousands of generations. I forgive people for all kinds of sins [TRI]. But I will certainly punish [LIT] those who are guilty. I will punish not only them, but I will punish ◄their descendants, down to the third and fourth generation/their children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren►.”
\p
\v 8 Moses/I quickly prostrated himself/myself on the ground and worshiped  \add Yahweh\add*.
\v 9 He/I said, “Yahweh, if you are now pleased with me, I ask that you go with us. These people are very stubborn [IDI], but forgive us for all our sins [DOU], and accept us to be people who belong to you  \add forever\add*.”
\p
\v 10 Yahweh replied, “Note this: I am going to make a solemn agreement  \add with the Israeli people\add*. As they are watching, I will perform great miracles. They will be miracles that no one has ever done on the earth in any nation. All the people who are near you will see the great things that I, Yahweh, will do. I will do awesome things for you  \add all\add*.
\v 11-12 \add Each Israeli\add* person must obey what I am commanding you this day. Do not forget that  \add if you do that\add*, I will expel the Amor, Canaan, Heth, Periz, Hiv, and Jebus people-groups  \add from the land\add*. But be careful that you do not make any  \add peace\add* agreements with any of the people who live in the land into which you are going, because if you  \add do that\add*, \add you will begin to do the evil things that they do\add*. It will be  \add like\add* falling into a trap.
\v 13 You must tear down their altars, destroy their sacred pillars, and cut down  \add the poles that they use to worship their female goddess\add* Asherah.
\v 14 You must worship only me, \add and\add* not worship any other god, because I, Yahweh, am jealous.
\v 15 Do not make peace agreements with  \add any group\add* that lives in that land. When they worship their gods and offer sacrifices to their gods, and they invite you to join them, do not join them. If  \add you join them\add*, you will eat the food that they sacrifice to their gods, and  \add you will not be faithful to me. You will be like people who\add* commit adultery, \add who are not being faithful to their spouses\add* [MET].
\v 16 If you take some of their women to be wives for your sons, and these women worship their own gods, they will persuade your sons also to worship their gods.
\p
\v 17 Do not pour melted metal into molds to make statues for you to worship.
\p
\v 18 \add Each year\add*, during the month  \add of/named\add* Abib, celebrate the Festival of Eating Bread Made Without Yeast. \add During that festival\add*, you must not eat bread made with yeast for seven days, as I commanded you, because it was in that month that you left Egypt.
\p
\v 19 Your firstborn sons and the firstborn  \add male\add* animals of your cattle and sheep  \add and goats\add* belong to me.
\v 20 The firstborn of your  \add male\add* donkeys  \add also belong to me\add*. But you may buy them back by  \add offering to me\add* lambs  \add in their place\add*. If you do not do that, you must  \add kill these animals by\add* breaking their necks. You must also buy back your firstborn sons. You must bring an offering to me [LIT] each time you come to  \add worship\add* me.
\p
\v 21 \add Each week\add* you may work for six days, but on the seventh day you must rest. \add Even\add* during the times when you plow  \add the ground\add* and harvest  \add your crops\add*, you must rest  \add on the seventh day\add*.
\p
\v 22 \add Each year\add* celebrate the harvest festival, when you begin to harvest the first crop of wheat, and also celebrate the shelters festival, when you finish harvesting  \add the grain and fruit\add*.
\p
\v 23 Three times each year all the men must come to worship me, Yahweh, the God of the Israeli people.
\v 24 I will expel the people-groups that live in the land  \add where you will be\add*, and I will cause your territory to become very large. As a result, no group will try to conquer your country if you come to worship me each year during those three festivals.
\p
\v 25 When you sacrifice an animal [MTY] to me, do not offer with it bread that is made with yeast. And during the Passover Festival, when you sacrifice lambs, do not keep any of the meat until the next morning.
\p
\v 26 I am Yahweh God. You must bring to my Sacred Tent the first part of the grain that you harvest each year. When you kill a young animal/kid  \add either a lamb or a calf\add*, do not  \add prepare to eat it by\add* boiling it in its mother's milk.”
\p
\v 27 Yahweh also said to Moses/me, “Write down the words that I have told you. By giving you these commands, I have made a solemn agreement with you and with the  \add other\add* Israeli people.”
\p
\v 28 Moses/I was there  \add on the top of the mountain\add* with Yahweh for forty days and nights. During that time he/I did not eat or drink anything [SYN]. He/I engraved on the stone slabs the words of the Ten Commandments, \add which were part of Yahweh's\add* solemn agreement.
\s1 Moses' face was shining as he returned to the people
\p
\v 29 When Moses/I came back down the mountain, carrying in his/my hand the two stone slabs on which were written the Ten Commandments, his/my face was shining because he/I had been talking with Yahweh, but he/I did not know that his/my face was shining.
\v 30 When Aaron and the  \add other\add* Israeli people saw Moses/me, they were amazed/surprised that his/my face was shining. So they were afraid to come near him/me.
\v 31 But Moses/I called to them. Then Aaron and the other Israeli leaders came to him/me, and he/I talked with them.
\v 32 Afterwards, all the other Israeli people came near, and he/I told them all the laws that Yahweh had given to him/me on Sinai Mountain.
\v 33 When Moses/I finished talking to the people, he/I put a veil over his/my face.
\v 34 But whenever Moses/I entered the Sacred Tent to talk with Yahweh, he/I removed the veil. When he/I came back out, he/I would always tell to the Israeli people everything that Yahweh had commanded him/me  \add to tell them\add*.
\v 35 The Israeli people would see that Moses'/my face was  \add still\add* shining. Then he/I would put the veil back on his/my face again until the next time that he/I went into  \add the Sacred Tent\add* to talk with Yahweh.
\c 35
\s1 Regulations for the days of rest
\p
\v 1 Moses/I gathered all the Israeli people together and said to them, “This is what Yahweh has commanded you to do:
\v 2 \add Each week\add* you may work for six days, but on the seventh day, you must rest. It is a sacred day, dedicated to Yahweh. Anyone who does any work on the seventh day must be executed.
\v 3 Do not  \add even\add* light a fire in your homes on days of rest.”
\s1 Gifts for constructing the Sacred Tent
\p
\v 4 Moses/I also said to all the Israeli people, “This is  \add also\add* what Yahweh has commanded:
\v 5 Make offerings to Yahweh. Everyone who wants to should bring to Yahweh an offering. \add These are the things that they may offer\add*:  Gold, silver, bronze,
\v 6 fine white linen, blue, purple or red cloth, \add cloth made from\add* goats' hair,
\v 7 rams' skins that are ◄tanned/dyed red►, fine leather made from goatskins, wood from acacia  \add trees\add*, 
\v 8 oil for the lamps, spices to put in the olive oil for anointing and in the sweet-smelling incense,
\v 9 \add valuable\add* onyx stones or  \add other\add* valuable stones to fasten onto the  \add priest's\add* sacred apron and put on his sacred chest pouch.
\p
\v 10 All the skilled workers among you should come and make all the things that Yahweh has commanded:
\v 11 The Sacred Tent and its covering, its fasteners and its frames, its crossbars, its posts, its bases,
\v 12 the sacred chest with its poles and its lid, the curtain that will separate the Holy Place from the Very Holy Place,
\v 13 the table with the poles  \add for carrying it\add* and all the things that will be used with the table, the sacred bread that will be offered to God,
\v 14 the lampstand for the lamps with all the things that will be used to take care of them, the oil for the lamps,
\v 15 the altar for  \add burning\add* incense and the poles  \add for carrying that altar\add*, the oil for anointing and the sweet-smelling incense, the curtain for the entrance of the Sacred Tent,
\v 16 the altar for offering  \add sacrifices that will be completely\add* burned and its bronze grating, the poles  \add for carrying\add* that altar and all the things that will be used with it, the washbasin and its base,
\v 17 the curtains  \add to surround\add* the courtyard and the posts and bases  \add for the posts from which to hang the curtains\add*, the curtain for the entrance to the courtyard,
\v 18 the pegs and ropes for the Sacred Tent,
\v 19 and the beautiful clothes that Aaron and his sons are to wear when they do their work in the Holy Place.”
\p
\v 20 Then all the Israeli people returned  \add to their tents\add*.
\v 21 Everyone who wanted to brought an offering to Yahweh. They brought some of the things that would be used to make the Sacred Tent and all the other items that would be used in the rituals, and the materials to make the sacred clothes  \add for the priests\add*.
\v 22 All the men and women who wanted to brought gold ornaments, earrings, rings, necklaces, and many other kinds of things made of gold, and they dedicated them to Yahweh.
\v 23 And many [HYP] people who had blue, purple, or red cloth or fine white linen or cloth made from goats' hair or rams' skins that were ◄tanned/dyed red► or leather made from goatskins brought some of these things.
\v 24 All those who had silver or bronze brought them as offerings to Yahweh. All those who had some acacia wood that could be used for any of the work brought it.
\v 25 All the women who were skilled to make cloth brought fine linen thread and blue, purple, or red yarn/thread that they had made/spun.
\v 26 And all the women who wanted to made/spun thread from goats' hair.
\v 27 All the leaders brought valuable onyx stones and other valuable stones to be fastened to Aaron's sacred apron and his sacred chest pouch.
\v 28 They also brought spices  \add to put in the sweet-smelling incense\add*, and they brought olive oil for the lamps and for the oil for anointing and for putting in the sweet-smelling incense.
\v 29 All the Israeli men and women who wanted to brought these things to offer them to Yahweh, for doing the work that he had commanded Moses/me to do.
\s1 Moses' instructions regarding Bezalel and Oholiab
\p
\v 30 Moses/I said to the Israeli people, “Listen carefully. Yahweh has chosen Bezalel, the son of Uri and grandson of Hur, from the tribe of Judah.
\v 31 Yahweh has enabled his Spirit to completely control Bezalel and has given him ability and enabled him to know how to do very skilled work.
\v 32 He can engrave skillful designs in gold, silver, and bronze.
\v 33 He can cut ◄jewels/valuable stones► and enclose them  \add in tiny gold frames\add*. He can carve things from wood and do other skilled work.
\v 34 Yahweh has also given to him and to Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, from the tribe of Dan the ability to teach their skills to others.
\v 35 He has given to them the ability to do all kinds of work that is done by craftsmen—those who create artistic things, those who make fine white linen, those who embroider designs using blue, purple, or red yarn/thread, and those who make other cloth. They are able to do many [HYP] kinds of skillful work.
\c 36
\p
\v 1 Bezalel and Oholiab, and all the other men to whom Yahweh has given ability and enabled them to understand how to do all the work to make the Sacred Tent, must make everything just as Yahweh has commanded.”
\p
\v 2 So Moses/I summoned Bezalel and Oholiab and all the other skilled men to whom Yahweh had given special ability and who wanted to do some of the work.
\v 3 Moses/I gave them all the things that the people had brought as offerings to Yahweh for making the Sacred Tent. But the people continued bringing more things every morning.
\v 4 As a result, the skilled men who were doing various things to make the Sacred Tent came to Moses/me
\v 5 and said, “The people are bringing more than we need to do the work that Yahweh has commanded us!”
\v 6 So Moses/I gave them a message that was proclaimed throughout the camp, saying “No one should bring anything more as an offering to make the Sacred Tent!” When the people  \add heard that\add*, they did not bring anything more.
\v 7 What they had already brought was enough to do all the work. \add In fact\add*, it was more than was needed!
\s1 They made the curtains and coverings for the Sacred Tent
\p
\v 8 All the most skilled men among the workmen made the Sacred Tent. They made it from ten strips of fine linen, and carefully embroidered it using blue, purple, and red yarn/thread to make figures that resembled the winged creatures.
\v 9 Each strip was ◄fourteen yards/twelve meters► long and ◄2 yards/1.8 meters► wide.
\v 10 They sewed five strips together to make one set, and they sewed the other five strips together to make the other set.
\v 11 For each set, they made loops of blue  \add cloth\add* and fastened them on the outer edge of the strip, at the end of each set.
\v 12 They put fifty loops on the edge of the first set, and fifty loops on the edge of the second set.
\v 13 They made fifty gold clasps/fasteners, to fasten both of the sets together. In that way, the inside of the Sacred Tent was  \add as though it was\add* one piece.
\v 14 They made a cover for the Sacred Tent from eleven pieces of cloth made from goats' hair.
\v 15 Each piece of cloth was ◄15 yards/13.5 meters► long and ◄2 yards/1.8 meters► wide.
\v 16 They sewed five of these pieces of cloth together to make one set, and they sewed the other six pieces of cloth together to make another set.
\v 17 They made one hundred loops  \add of blue cloth\add*. They fastened fifty of them to the outer edge of the one set and they fastened fifty to the outer edge of the other set.
\v 18 They made fifty bronze clasps/fasteners and joined the two sets together with them. In that way it formed one cover.
\v 19 They made two more covers for the Sacred Tent. They made one from rams' skins that had been ◄tanned/dyed red►, and they made the top cover from goatskin leather.
\v 20 They made  \add 48\add* frames from acacia wood and set them up  \add to support the covers for the Sacred Tent\add*.
\v 21 Each frame was ◄5 feet/4.5 meters► long and ◄27 in./66 cm.► wide.
\v 22 They made two projections at the bottom of each frame. These were for fastening the frames to the bases underneath them. Each frame had these projections.
\v 23 The skilled workmen made twenty frames for the south side of the Sacred Tent.
\v 24 They made forty silver bases to go underneath them. Two bases went under each frame. The projections on each frame fit into these bases.
\v 25 \add Similarly\add*, they made twenty frames for the north side of the Sacred Tent.
\v 26 They made forty silver bases for them also, with two bases for under each frame.
\v 27 For the rear of the Sacred Tent, on the west side, they made six frames.
\v 28 They also made two extra frames, one for each corner of the rear of the Sacred Tent, \add to provide extra support\add*.
\v 29 The two corner frames were separated at the bottom but joined at the top (OR, joined at both the bottom and the top). At the top of each of the two corner frames they fastened a gold ring for holding the crossbar.
\v 30 In that way, \add for the rear of the Sacred Tent\add* there were eight frames, and there were sixteen bases, two bases under each frame.
\v 31 The workmen made fifteen crossbars from acacia wood.
\v 32 Five of them were for the frames on the north side of the Sacred Tent, five for the south side, and five for the frames at the rear of the Sacred Tent, the west side.
\v 33 The crossbars on the north, south, and west sides of the Sacred Tent were fastened to the middle of the frames. The two long crossbars extended from one end of the Sacred Tent to the other, and the crossbar on the west side extended from one side of the Sacred Tent to the other.
\v 34 The workmen covered the frames with gold and fastened gold rings to the poles. The crossbars  \add were put\add* into the rings. The crossbars were  \add also\add* covered with gold.
\p
\v 35 They made a curtain from fine white linen. Skilled craftsmen embroidered it with blue, purple, and red yarn/thread, making designs  \add that resembled\add* the winged creatures.
\v 36 They suspended/hung the curtain from four posts that were made from acacia  \add wood\add* and covered with gold. They set  \add each\add* post in a silver base.
\v 37 They made a curtain to  \add cover\add* the entrance of the Sacred Tent. They made it from fine linen, and a skilled weaver embroidered it with blue, purple, and red yarn/thread.
\v 38 \add To support this curtain\add*, they also made five posts from acacia wood and fastened gold clasps/fasteners to them. They completely covered the posts with gold. They also made a bronze base for each of those posts.
\c 37
\s1 Bezalel made the altar for burning sacrifices
\p
\v 1 Then Bezalel made the  \add sacred\add* chest from acacia wood. It was ◄45 in./110 cm.► long, ◄27 in./66 cm.► wide, and ◄27 in./66 cm.► high.
\v 2 He covered it with pure gold inside and outside the chest, and he made a gold border around the top of it.
\v 3 He made/cast four rings from gold  \add and fastened them\add* to the legs of the chest. He put two rings on each side of the chest.
\v 4 He made  \add two\add* poles from acacia wood, and covered them with gold.
\v 5 He put the poles into the rings on the sides of the chest, in order that the chest could be carried  \add by means of the poles\add*.
\v 6 He made a lid for the chest. That was  \add the place where Yahweh would\add* cover people's sins. It  \add also\add* was ◄45 in./110 cm.► long and ◄27 in./66 cm.► wide.
\v 7 He made two winged creatures from hammered gold.
\v 8 One of these was put at each end of the chest. The gold  \add with which they were made\add* was joined to the gold from which the lid  \add was made\add*.
\v 9 \add He placed the\add* winged creatures so that their wings touched each other and spread out over the lid.
\s1 Bezalel made the table
\p
\v 10 Bezalel made a table from acacia wood. It was ◄36 in./88 cm.► long, ◄18 in./44 cm.► wide, and ◄27 in./66 cm.► high.
\v 11 He covered it with pure gold, and he put a gold border around it.
\v 12 He made a rim all around it, ◄3 in./7 cm.► wide. He put a gold border around the rim.
\v 13 He made/cast four rings from gold and fastened the rings to the four corners of the table, one ring close to each leg  \add of the table\add*.
\v 14 The rings were fastened to the table near the rim.
\v 15 He made two poles from acacia wood and covered them with gold. The poles for carrying the table were then inserted into the rings.
\v 16 He also made from pure gold all the things to be put on the table. He made the plates, the cups, and the jars and bowls to be used  \add when the priests\add* poured out wine  \add to offer to Yahweh\add*.
\v 17 \add He\add* made the lampstand from pure gold. Its base and its shaft were hammered from  \add one large lump\add* of gold. \add The branches of the lampstand\add*, the cups for holding the oil, the flower buds and the petals  \add that decorated the branches of the lamp, the base, and the shaft were all hammered from\add* one  \add big\add* lump of gold.
\v 18 There were six branches on the lampstand, three on each side  \add of the shaft\add*.
\v 19 Each of the branches had on it three  \add gold decorations that looked like\add* almond blossoms. These decorations also had flower buds and  \add flower\add* petals.
\v 20 On the  \add shaft of the\add* lampstand there were four  \add gold decorations that also looked like\add* almond blossoms, each one with flower buds and  \add flower\add* petals.
\v 21 On each side, beneath and extending from each of the branches, there was one  \add flower\add* bud.
\v 22 All these  \add flower\add* buds and branches, along with the shaft, were hammered from one large lump of pure gold.
\v 23 Bezalel also made seven small cups  \add for holding oil. He put one cup on top of the shaft and he put the others on top of the branches\add*. He made from pure gold the tongs  \add for removing the burned wicks\add* and the trays  \add in which to put the burned wicks\add*.
\v 24 He used ◄75 pounds/35 kg.► of pure gold to make the lampstand and all the things that were used to take care of it.
\s1 Bezalel made the altar for burning incense
\p
\v 25 Bezalel made the altar  \add for burning\add* incense from acacia wood. It was square, ◄18 in./45 cm.► on each side. It was ◄3 ft./90 cm.► high. He made  \add a projection that looked like\add* a horn on each of the top corners. The projections were carved from the same block of wood that the altar was made of.
\v 26 He covered the top and the four sides, including the projections, with pure gold. He put a gold border around the altar, \add near the top\add*.
\v 27 He made two gold rings for carrying the altar. Then he attached them to the altar below the border, one on each side of the altar. The poles by means of which the altar was to be carried were  \add to be inserted into\add* those rings.
\v 28 He made those  \add two\add* poles from acacia wood and covered them with gold.
\v 29 He also made the sacred oil for anointing and the pure sweet-smelling incense. He mixed the incense together as a skilled perfumer would.
\c 38
\s1 They made the altar for burning sacrifices, and they made the washbasin
\p
\v 1 \add Several men helped\add* Bezalel to make the altar for burning sacrifices. They made it from acacia wood. It was square, ◄7-1/2 feet/2.2 meters► on each side, and it was ◄4-1/2 feet/1.3 meters► high.
\v 2 They made  \add a projection that looked like\add* a horn on each of the top corners. The projections were carved from the same block of wood that the altar  \add was made of\add*. They covered the whole altar with bronze.
\v 3 They made the pans in which to put the greasy ashes  \add from the animal sacrifices\add*. They also made the shovels for cleaning out the ashes. They made the basins and forks for turning the meat as it cooked, and buckets for carrying hot coals/ashes. All of those things were made from bronze.
\v 4 They also made a bronze grating to hold the wood and burning coals. They put the grating under the rim that went around the altar. \add They\add* made it so that it was  \add inside the altar\add*, halfway down.
\v 5 They made bronze rings in which to put the poles  \add for carrying the altar\add*, and fastened one of them to each of the corners of the altar.
\v 6 They made the poles from acacia wood and covered them with bronze.
\v 7 They put the poles through the rings on each side of the altar. The poles were for carrying the altar.
\v 8 The altar was  \add hollow\add* like an empty box. It was made from boards  \add of acacia wood\add*.
\p They made/cast the washbasin and its base from bronze. The bronze was from the mirrors that belonged to the women who worked at the entrance of the Sacred Tent.
\s1 They made curtains to surround the courtyard
\p
\v 9 \add Around the Sacred Tent\add* Bezalel and his helpers made a courtyard. To form the courtyard, they made curtains of fine white linen. On the south side, the curtain was ◄150 feet/44 meters► long.
\v 10 \add To hang the curtain\add*, they made twenty bronze posts and twenty bronze bases, \add one for under each post\add*. \add To fasten the curtains to\add* the posts, they made silver hooks, and  \add they made metal rods covered with\add* silver.
\v 11 They made the same kind of curtains, posts, bases and hooks for the north side of the courtyard.
\v 12 On the west side  \add of the courtyard\add*, they made a curtain ◄75 feet/22 meters► long. They also made ten posts on which to hang the curtains, and ten bases, with silver hooks and  \add metal rods covered\add* with silver.
\v 13 On the east side, \add where the entrance is\add*, the courtyard was ◄75 feet/22 meters► wide.
\v 14-15 On each side of the entrance, they made a curtain ◄22-1/2 feet/6.6 meters► wide. On each side they  \add were hung from\add* three posts, and one base was under each post.
\v 16 All the curtains around the courtyard were made from fine white linen.
\v 17 All the posts around the courtyard were made of bronze, but the tops were covered with silver. The posts were connected with  \add metal rods covered\add* with silver. The clasps/fasteners and hooks were made of silver.
\v 18 For the entrance of the courtyard, they made a curtain from fine white linen, and a skilled weaver embroidered it with blue, purple, and red yarn/thread. The curtain was ◄30 feet/9 meters► long and ◄7-1/2 feet/2.2 meters► high, just like the other curtains around the courtyard.
\v 19 All the curtains were made of fine white linen. They were supported by four posts, and  \add under each post\add* was a base made of bronze. All the posts around the courtyard were connected with metal rods covered with silver. The clasps/fasteners were made of silver, and the tops of the posts were covered with silver.
\v 20 All the tent pegs to support the Sacred Tent and the curtains around the courtyard were made of bronze.
\s1 A list of the materials used
\p
\v 21 Here is a list of the amounts of metal used to make the Sacred Tent. Moses/I told  \add some men from\add* the tribe of Levi to  \add count all the materials used and\add* write down the amounts. Ithamar, the son of Aaron the priest, supervised those men.
\v 22 Bezalel the son of Uri and grandson of Hur made all the things that Yahweh commanded Moses/me to be made.
\v 23 Bezalel's helper was Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. Ahisamach was a skilled engraver who made artistic things. He made fine white linen, and he embroidered designs using blue, purple, and red yarn/thread. He also made other cloth.
\v 24 All the gold that was used to make the Sacred Tent weighed ◄2,195 pounds/1,000 kg.►. They used the official standard when they weighed the gold.
\v 25 All the silver that the people contributed when the leaders ◄took the census/counted the men► weighed ◄7,500 pounds/3,400 kg.►. They also used the official standard when they weighed the silver.
\v 26 All the men who were at least twenty years old were counted, and they each paid the required amount. That was a total of 603,550 men.
\v 27 They used ◄75 pounds/34 kg.► of silver for making/casting each of the one hundred bases  \add to put under the posts to support\add* the curtains of the Sacred Tent.
\v 28 Bezalel  \add and his helpers\add* used the ◄50 pounds/30 kg.► of silver that was not used for the bases to make the rods and the hooks for the posts, and to cover the tops of the posts.
\v 29 The bronze that the people contributed weighed ◄5,310 pounds/2,425 kg.►.
\v 30 With the bronze Bezalel and his helpers made the bases for under the posts at the entrance of the Sacred Tent. They also made the altar for burning sacrifices, the grating for it and the tools used with it,
\v 31 the bases for the posts  \add that supported the curtains\add* that surrounded the courtyard and the bases for the entrance to the courtyard, and the pegs for the Sacred Tent and for the  \add curtains around\add* the courtyard.
\c 39
\s1 They made the sacred clothes for Aaron
\p
\v 1 Bezalel, Oholiab, and the other skilled workmen made the beautiful clothes for Aaron to wear while he did his work as a priest in the Holy Place. They made them from blue, purple, and red cloth, just as Yahweh had commanded Moses/me.
\v 2 They made the sacred apron from fine white linen and from blue, purple, and red cloth.
\v 3 They hammered some thin sheets of gold and cut them into thin strips which they embroidered into the fine linen and into the blue, purple, and red cloth.
\v 4 It had two shoulder straps, to join the front part to the back part at its sides.
\v 5 A carefully-woven sash, which was made from the same materials as the sacred apron, was  \add sewn\add* onto the sacred apron. This was made exactly as Yahweh had commanded Moses/me.
\v 6 They cut two valuable onyx stones and enclosed them in a tiny frame, and a skilled gem-cutter engraved on the stones the names of the twelve sons of Jacob.
\v 7 They fastened the stones to the shoulder straps of the sacred apron, to represent the twelve Israeli tribes, exactly as Yahweh had commanded Moses/me.
\v 8 They made the sacred chest pouch. They made it of the same materials as the sacred apron and embroidered it in the same way.
\v 9 It was square, and the material was folded double, so that it was ◄9 in./22 cm.► on each side.
\v 10 They fastened four rows of valuable stones onto the pouch. In the first row, they put a  \add red\add* ruby, a  \add yellow\add* topaz, and a  \add red\add* garnet.
\v 11 In the second row, they put a  \add green\add* emerald, a  \add blue\add* sapphire, and a clear/\add white\add* diamond.
\v 12 In the third row they put a  \add red\add* jacinth, a  \add white\add* agate, and a  \add purple\add* amethyst.
\v 13 In the fourth row, they put a  \add yellow\add* beryl, a  \add red\add* carnelian, and a  \add green\add* jasper. They put tiny gold frames around each of the stones.
\v 14 On each of the twelve stones they engraved the name of one of the sons of Jacob, to represent one of the twelve Israeli tribes.
\v 15 They made two  \add chains\add* from pure gold and braided them like cords, to  \add attach\add* the sacred pouch  \add to the sacred apron\add*.
\v 16 They made two gold rings, and they attached them to the upper corners of the sacred pouch.
\v 17 They made two gold cords and fastened one end of each cord to one of the rings.
\v 18 They fastened the other end of each cord to the two ◄settings/tiny frames► \add that enclosed the stones\add*. Then they attached the sacred pouch to the shoulder straps of the sacred apron.
\v 19 Then they made two more gold rings and attached them to the lower corners of the sacred pouch, on the inside edges, next to the sacred apron.
\v 20 They made two more gold rings and attached them to the lower part of the front of the shoulder straps, near to where  \add the shoulder straps\add* were joined  \add to the sacred apron\add*, just above the carefully-woven sash/waistband.
\v 21 They tied the rings on the sacred pouch to the rings on the sacred apron with a blue cord, so that the sacred pouch was above the sash/waistband and would not come loose from the sacred apron.
\s1 They made other special clothes for the priests
\p
\v 22 They made the robe that is to be worn underneath the priest's sacred apron using only blue  \add cloth\add*.
\v 23 It had an opening through which  \add the priest\add* would put his head. They sewed a border around this opening, to prevent the material from tearing.
\v 24 At the lower edge on the robe, they fastened  \add decorations that resembled\add* pomegranate fruit. The decorations were  \add woven from\add* blue, purple, and red yarn/thread.
\v 25 Between each of these decorations, they fastened a tiny bell made from pure gold,
\v 26 for  \add Aaron to wear while\add* he did his work as a priest. They made all these things exactly as Yahweh had commanded Moses/me.
\p
\v 27 They wove long-sleeved tunics/gowns from fine white linen, for Aaron and his sons.
\v 28 They also made a turban of fine linen  \add for Aaron to wear around his head\add*. They made the caps and the undershorts  \add for Aaron's sons\add* from fine linen.
\v 29 They made the embroidered sash/waistband  \add for Aaron\add* from fine linen and from blue, purple, and red cloth, and they embroidered designs on it using blue, purple, and red yarn/thread, exactly as Yahweh had commanded Moses/me.
\v 30 They also made the tiny ornament of pure gold and had a skilled workman engrave on it the words, ❛Dedicated to Yahweh❜.
\v 31 They fastened this to the front of the turban by a blue cord, just as Yahweh had commanded Moses/me.
\p
\v 32 Finally they finished all the work to make the Sacred Tent. They brought to Moses/me all the things that they had made. They had made them exactly as Yahweh had commanded me.
\v 33 They brought to him/me the Sacred Tent and all the things that were used with it: The hooks, the frames, the crossbars, the posts and their bases,
\v 34 the coverings for the Sacred Tent that were made of tanned/dyed rams' skins and goatskins, the curtains,
\v 35 the sacred chest that contained the stone slabs  \add on which the commandments were written\add*, the lid for the chest,
\v 36 the table with all the things that were used with it, the sacred bread  \add that was offered\add* to God,
\v 37 the lampstand made of pure gold and all its lamps and all the things that were to be used to take care of it, the oil for the lamps,
\v 38 the golden altar  \add for burning incense\add*, the oil for anointing, the sweet-smelling incense, the curtain for the entrance to the Sacred Tent,
\v 39 the bronze altar  \add for burning sacrifices\add* and its bronze grating, the poles  \add for carrying\add* it, and all the other things that were used with it, the washbasin and its base,
\v 40 the curtains  \add that surrounded\add* the courtyard, the posts and bases that supported them, the curtain for the entrance to the courtyard and its ropes, the tent pegs, and all the other things that would be used in the Sacred Tent,
\v 41 the beautiful sacred clothes for Aaron to wear when he did his work in the Holy Place, and the special clothes for his sons to wear as they did their work as priests.
\v 42 The Israeli people had done all this work exactly as Yahweh had commanded Moses/me.
\v 43 Then Moses/I saw all the work that they had done. Truly, they had done everything exactly as Yahweh had commanded  \add that it should be done\add*. Then Moses/I  \add asked God to\add* bless them.
\c 40
\s1 They set up the Sacred Tent
\p
\v 1 Then Yahweh said to Moses/me,
\v 2 “On the first day of the first month next year, \add tell the people to\add* set up the Sacred Tent.
\v 3 Put inside it the sacred chest  \add that contains the stone slabs on which are engraved\add* the Ten Commandments, and hang the curtain in front of it.
\v 4 Bring the table into the Sacred Tent, and place on it all the things that are to be used with it. Bring in the lampstand and set the lamps in it.
\v 5 Put the gold altar for  \add burning\add* incense in front of the sacred chest, and set up the curtain at the entrance of the Sacred Tent.
\v 6 Put the altar for burning sacrifices in front of the Sacred Tent.
\v 7 Put the washbasin between the Sacred Tent and the altar, and fill it with water.
\v 8 Hang the curtains that will surround the courtyard, and hang the curtain at its entrance.
\v 9 Then take the oil for anointing and anoint the Sacred Tent and everything that is in it, to ◄set it apart/dedicate it► to me. Then it will be holy/sacred.
\v 10 Also anoint the altar for offering sacrifices that will be completely burned and all the things that will be used with it, and set it apart. Then it also will be holy/sacred.
\v 11 Also anoint the washbasin and its base, to set it apart.
\v 12 Then bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the Sacred Tent, and wash them  \add ritually\add* with water.
\v 13 Then put on Aaron his sacred clothes to ◄set him apart/dedicate him►, in order that he can serve me as a priest.
\v 14 Also bring his sons there. Put their sacred tunics/gowns on them
\v 15 and anoint them just as you anointed their father, in order that they also may serve me by working as priests. By anointing them  \add and their descendants\add*, you will cause them to be priests throughout all coming generations.”
\p
\v 16 Moses/I did all these things exactly as Yahweh had commanded him/me.
\v 17 On the first day of the first month of the next year (OR, second year  \add after they/we left Egypt\add*), the people set up the Sacred Tent.
\v 18 Following Moses'/my instructions, they set up the Sacred Tent and its bases, set up the frames, attached the crossbars, and put up the posts  \add for the curtains\add*.
\v 19 Then they spread out the coverings over the Sacred Tent, exactly as Yahweh had commanded.
\v 20 Then he/I took the two stone slabs  \add on which the commandments were written\add* and put them in the sacred chest. He/I put the carrying poles  \add in the rings\add* on the chest and put the lid on top of the chest.
\v 21 Then he/I took the chest into  \add the Holy Place inside\add* the Sacred Tent and hung the curtain. In that way, he/I prevented the people who were outside from seeing the chest. He/I did all this exactly as Yahweh had commanded him/me.
\v 22 He/I set the table inside the Sacred Tent, on the north side, outside the curtain.
\v 23 He/I placed on the table the bread that was offered to Yahweh, exactly as Yahweh had commanded.
\v 24 He/I set the lampstand inside the Sacred Tent, on the south side, opposite the table.
\v 25 Then he/I set the lamps on the lampstand in Yahweh's presence, exactly as Yahweh had commanded.
\v 26 He/I set the golden altar for burning incense inside the Sacred Tent, in front of the curtain  \add that separated the Holy Place from the Very Holy Place\add*, 
\v 27 and he/I burned some sweet-smelling incense on it, exactly as Yahweh had commanded him/me.
\v 28 He/I hung the curtain at the entrance to the Sacred Tent.
\v 29 At the entrance to the Sacred Tent, he/I set the altar for offering sacrifices that were to be burned completely. Then he/I offered on it the meat that was to be burned completely and the grain offering, exactly as Yahweh had commanded him/me.
\v 30 He/I set the washbasin between the Sacred Tent and the  \add bronze\add* altar, and he/I filled the washbasin with water.
\v 31-32 Every time Moses/I and Aaron and his sons went into the Sacred Tent or went to the altar, they/we washed their/our hands and feet  \add ritually\add*, exactly as Yahweh had commanded Moses/me.
\v 33 Following Moses'/my instructions, they hung the curtains that surrounded the courtyard and the altar, and they hung the curtain at the entrance to the courtyard. So Moses/I finished that work.
\s1 Yahweh's brilliant light filled the Sacred Tent
\p
\v 34 Then the tall bright cloud covered the Sacred Tent, and Yahweh's ◄glory/brilliant light► filled the Sacred Tent.
\v 35 Because that light was very bright, Moses/I was not able to enter the Sacred Tent.
\v 36 From that day, whenever the Israeli people wanted to move to another place, they went only when the bright cloud rose from above the Sacred Tent.
\v 37 If the cloud did not rise, they stayed where they were and did not go on until the cloud rose.
\v 38 Wherever they traveled, the bright cloud that  \add indicated\add* Yahweh's  \add presence\add* was above the Sacred Tent during the day, and a  \add bright\add* fire was inside the cloud at night, with the result that all the Israeli people [MTY] could see it  \add at any time\add*.